Fire and Shadow
by RAWG98
Summary: A boy who has been cursed to wander the world all alone realizes a loophole in the laws that rule his life, and convinces a Braixen capable of human speech to join him on his quest to find out why he is this way. Meanwhile, an evil organization has it's eyes set on them, and plans to capture and use the pair for their own dark means. This is finished, but I am still editing it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A Chance Meeting

You want to hear a story? How does a story filled with action, adventure, danger, and even a little romance sound? Good? Okay then, let me begin. My name is Steven, and this is my story: the story of how I found a loophole in the laws of my life, and turned a meaningless existence into a great one.

It all started one evening in early spring. I was walking through the forest, alone, as I had been for nearly six years now. You see, I am cursed. It has its ups and downs. On the downside, I cannot have any human companions; anyone who travels with me dies after about a week, and it is unavoidable. Also, I cannot have Pokémon. Poké balls malfunction when I touch them, causing empty ones to stop working altogether, and full ones to just not activate. On the plus side, I have the power to conjure and manipulate shadows, even make them take a solid form. Sounds pretty cool, right? It is, but it doesn't make up for spending the last 5 years all alone. I've been on the run, avoiding people so they don't get hurt just because they know me It's a sad life, but it's the one I'm stuck with. That is, until I met _her_.

Like I said, this all started one evening in early spring. I was walking through the foliage, careful not to make too much noise. I didn't want to disturb any Pokémon, for I knew I would have to fight them, and I hate using my powers on Pokémon, because they can actually kill them. I was looking around for any berry plants, for I could use a quick meal. Suddenly, off to my left, I heard a loud rustling, as if someone or something was sprinting through the bushes.

I dove behind a tree, using the shadows to conceal myself. I watched through a fork in the main branches to see what was going on. As I stared, a Braixen came crashing out of the brush, gasping and looking behind her wildly. She pulled her wand out of her tail, and aimed it at the bush, her arm shaking, either out of fear or adrenaline. Moments later, two men in matching uniforms came out of the bushes.

The light from the wand's flame illuminated their wicked smiles. Their outfits consisted of black pants, red short-sleeved undershirts, and black vest. One of them, a fat guy that looked about 20, wore red-tinted goggles. While the other, a tall and skinny man who looked maybe mid-30s, wore a red bandana with a black stripe running down the middle.

"Have you finally given up, you little bitch, or are you going to try and get away from us some more?" The tall one chuckled.

The Braixen bared her teeth, and to my surprise, responded in full English, "Give up to a couple of assholes like you? I don't think so." And with that, threw her wand in the air, spun around, caught it, and blasted the two with a blast of flame. After about 10 seconds, the flames died away, and the two were still standing there, smiling even wider. The fat one laughed. "Doesn't she know that fire attacks cannot harm Team Blaze?" he said mockingly.

The tall one smiled and shook his head sadly. "Obviously not, my friend." Then his eyes widened, as if he suddenly had an idea. "Hey, here's a thought. Since she led us on such a long chase, we should punish her. What do you think?" he turned to his partner.

The fat one smiled. "Well, there aren't many hot chicks back at the compound, and I've always thought Braixen were pretty sexy."

The Braixen narrowed her eyes, trying to appear defiant, but I knew there was nothing she could do. The fat guy ran at her, quite fast for someone of his size, and pinned her arms behind her back. I began to panic. _What do I do? Do I retain my status of True Neutral, or do I interfere? This "Team Blaze" sounds like a group I don't want to oppose._ I made up my mind when I saw the tall thug reach for the zipper of his pants, realizing what he meant by "punish". _Chaotic Good it is, then,_ I thought, suddenly feeling my rage explode, and I burst out from behind the tree. The two thugs snapped their heads to turn towards me.

"Who the hell are you?" the fat one inquired angrily obviously pissed that his "fun" was interrupted. I ignored the question, and said in a flat voice, "Let her go." The two looked at each other, and then burst out laughing.

"Oh, and what is some kid going to do about it?" the tall one asked, barely able to speak through his fit. I smiled, then held my arm straight out to the side. Then it became surrounded by a swirl of black smoke, which slowly formed the shape of a double-bladed helix sword. They looked at me, confused. The tall one reached for a Poké ball at his belt. The fat one threw the Braixen to the ground, the impact knocking her unconscious.

"Go, Charizard!" The tall one shouted, tossing the ball to the ground a few feet in front of him. There was a flash of white light, and suddenly a large, orange dragon was staring down at me, its eyes burning, just like its tail.

"Fire Spin!" He shouted, pointing at me. The Charizard opened its mouth, gathering a fireball, and then blasted it straight at me. I was instantly surrounded by a circular wall of flame. I dropped to my knees, the heat making me nauseous. _This is nothing,_ I thought confidently. I stood up, and swung my sword straight at the wall of flame. The impact cut it directly in half, and the rest of the wall dissipated. The Charizard looked at me, uncertain. Obviously, it had never battled an opponent able to escape the fiery vortex.

The tall trainer growled. "What the hell are you doing just standing there? Tear him in half!" The Charizard shook its head, snapping back into reality, and then crossed its arms as its claws turned silver. Arms raised it charged at me. By the size of those claws, I knew there was no blocking this attack. I quickly jumped to the side just as it brought its arm down, and it was shocked to find it had buried its claws into the dirt.

I quickly took advantage of the distraction, and flipped my sword so I was holding it by the blade. I jabbed the Charizard sharply just below its rib cage. It doubled over gasping and writhing in pain. The tall man held up the Poké ball, and recalled the Charizard with widened eyes. I noticed the fat guy was now cowering behind his partner. The tall one stared at his Poké ball, and then looked at me in fear.

"W-what _are_ you?" he said quietly.

I smiled. "You really don't want to know that," I said, trying to terrify him even more. Before he could react, I held out my arm, pointing straight at them. "May your nightmares be a lesson for what you have tried to do this night!" Suddenly, the two passed out, fast asleep. I stood over them as my sword vanished in a puff of smoke, trying to figure out if I had seen anyone else in this so-called "Team Blaze". The name did not sound familiar, so I turned my gaze to the Braixen.

She was lying on her side, breathing quietly. I nudged her, trying to wake her up, but she was out cold. I sighed, and tried to make sense of this situation. I knew some legendary Pokémon were capable of using and comprehending human speech, but not common Pokémon such as this Braixen. I had a decision to make: should I take her to safety and try to find out more about her when she wakes up, or leave her here to be found by others? I realized these two might not be the only ones searching for her. Sighing heavily, I placed one arm beneath her legs, one behind her back, and began to carry her off. She pressed her head against my chest, smiled and sighed happily.

_Okay,_ I thought, raising one eyebrow, _this is one night I'm not going to believe in the morning. _And with that, I stalked off towards some lights a little ways away, hoping this town had an abandoned house like the last one did. I really didn't want to have to deal with a Pokémon Center right now; all I needed right now was a sheltered place to rest and recollect my strength. I was beginning to feel the burns on my face from the fire attack, and knew after a good nap, my healing factor would take care of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alliance

I reached the town after about 5 minutes, and found an abandoned house right by the edge of the woods. I gently placed the Braixen on the ground, happy to get a rest from carrying her, and crawled in through a smashed window, and unlocked the back door. Then, I carried her into the living room, where I found a tattered couch to lay her on. She looked so peaceful, despite the fact that she had been slammed headfirst into the ground. I hadn't had much experience with girls, human or Pokémon, so I felt strange standing there watching her sleep. I looked around for a bathroom, and looked in the mirror. My face was tanned by my burns, but my shoulder-length silver hair was untouched. My hazel eyes were narrowed and lined with dark circles from fatigue, and I noticed I had a long scratch across my face. I didn't know if it was from earlier in the day, or from the battle, but it wasn't anything serious. I sighed, and saw the edges of my burns were already starting to fade slowly, and the scratch was fading as well. I went into the living room, and saw the Braixen was still laying exactly as I had set her down. _She's pretty_ I thought, smiling, and then I frowned suddenly. _What am I thinking? She's a Pokémon, and I'm a human. Must be sleep deprivation getting to me, _and with that I went and sat down in the corner, and began to sleep.

It must have been about a half an hour later when a sharp blow to the side of my head knocked me on my side. I heard an angry but frightened voice say "Who the hell are you?!" as I struggled to get up. I looked up and saw the Braixen staring down at me, her blazing wand inches from my face. I looked her in the eyes, confused. "Who am I? Don't you remember me showing up to stop those guys?" _Wow, she __is__ pretty, _I thought once again, and this time I didn't reject the thought. She stared at me for a few seconds, and then her blazing eyes softened as she remembered what happened just before getting knocked out. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said quickly, putting away her wand, and holding out her hand to help me up. As I stood up, she looked around and said, "Well, thanks for saving me and all, and I don't mean to be rude, but I don't like humans much, so I gotta go." She started for the door, but I quickly said "Wait! What is your name?" she stopped and turned slowly. "Vix…" she said hesitantly. I smiled. "Well, Vix, could you tell me how or why you can talk?" She sighed. "Well, I guess that's the best thing I can give you for saving me, but it won't be much. To be honest, I don't know; I was born this way. I've been talking ever since I was born, but my family-"suddenly she stopped, and I realized what had happened shortly before I had shown up. She dropped to her knees and buried her head in her arms, and her shoulders began to shake as she wept softly. I kneeled next to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey, I know exactly what you're going through. I lost my family 10 years ago." She looked at me with tear-filled eyes. "W-what happened to them?" she asked, still sobbing. "I killed them." I said simply. She looked confused, so I continued on to explain my curse, and how I had been on my own for so long. "I know exactly what it's like to be alone. It sucks, but you get used to it, you know?" I smiled sympathetically. She smiled and sniffled a little. "What's your name?" she asked. "Steven." I said, glad I had calmed her down. "You know, you could travel with me; then you wouldn't have to be alone." She narrowed her eyes, confused. "I thought you said you couldn't have Pokémon," I grinned, knowing she would fall into that trap. "I said I couldn't use Poke balls. You obviously are smart enough to handle yourself without a trainer commanding your every move, so why not be traveling companions rather than trainer and Pokémon?" I asked hopefully. "I told you, I don't like humans very much. I think that little incident back there shows why" She said, trying to sound upset, but I could see she was beginning to smile. I continued to smile. "Neither do I. See? We already have a little in common." She giggled, and finally gave in. "Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tag with you for a while. Where exactly are you going?" I frowned. "I'm not sure. I'm looking for a man named Cyrus. I hear he is a mystic with knowledge of curses, and maybe he can tell me what is wrong with me, and even tell me how to reverse it." She stood up suddenly. "Then what are we waiting for?" she said happily. "We stick around here, and Team Blaze will surely track us here." I stood up as well and grinned. "Alright, then let's get moving." I walked to the door, and saw the golden sun was just beginning to peek over the eastern horizon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Alone Together

"So, you have any idea where we are heading?" Vix and I had been walking for a few hours since her decision to join me. She was already sounding like she was regretting the decision. I looked to the sky, watching a flock of Fletchling flying overhead.

"I heard of a village near a mountainside that still lives by old ways, farming and stuff. That sounds like the kind of place where information about an old sage could be found. Don't you think?" I asked her. I know, I sound like someone who plays too many RPGs, but hey, this is seriously my only lead. Cut me some slack, people; I ran away 5 years ago, but I didn't decide to find a way to get rid of the curse until a few weeks ago.

She nodded slightly. "Doesn't sound like much, but at least we aren't running around without any idea of what to do." It was my turn to nod.

"Why don't we stop and grab a bite?" I asked, pointing to an Oran tree at the edge of the path. Her eyes widened, and she immediately ran towards the tree, plucked off one of the deep blue fruits, and began to eat it hungrily.

"If you were that hungry, why didn't you say something? I would have gladly stopped." I smiled, carefully grabbing a fruit of my own.

She swallowed, and said "I was, but I didn't want to risk slowing down. Like I said back at the house, Team Blaze could be hot on our trail."

I shrugged. "Well, sure, but I'm sure we can afford a few moments to eat. Or," I said, continuing on the path," We can eat and walk." She stood up and ran to catch up with me.

"So, what more can you tell me about yourself?" she asked. I froze. Not literally, though; I kept walking, of course, but my brain stopped working. I swallowed hard, and said "well, there isn't much to tell. I already told you about my curse, and I haven't really known anyone for 5 years. You are my first friend in a very long time."

It was her turn to stop. "You… you consider me a friend? We've barely known each other for a few hours," she asked, confused.

I grinned. "Well, what else can I call you? You aren't my Pokémon, because I can't use Poké balls; and you are obviously a lot smarter than a normal Pokémon, so I can't call you a pet, so I guess there's only one thing to call you."

She blushed slightly at this. "I've never had a friend before. All the other Pokémon thought I was weird because I could talk and was so smart, and any people who found out I could talk treated me as some sort of specimen that needed to be studied. But you… you treat me, as if I'm… _human._"

I decided to change the subject. "So, how old are you? I'm 15. And, if you don't mind me asking, when did you evolve?"

She seemed a little relieved that I changed the subject as well. "I'm a little over 15, too. I evolved about 2 years ago. I don't think I'll do it again, though; I like the way I look as a Braixen. So, I carry an Everstone with me." She held up her arm, and I saw she was wearing a bracelet woven around a smooth, dull-grey stone. "Huh. Why not become a Delphox? You'd get psychic powers along with your normal fire-type powers."

She stared at the Everstone, lost in thought. "I'm not quite sure. I just _feel _right as a Braixen, you know what I mean? And I'm all right with just having fire powers. If that's the price I need to pay to be happy with myself, then that's just fine."

I looked off into the distance. "I guess we both have some soul-searching to do, huh?" I asked no one in particular. She said nothing, so I assumed she did not hear.

It was another uneventful hour of walking when we decided to rest. We found a nice shady clearing just a little off the path to sit down and relax in. I sat with my back against a tree, while she sat in the center of the clearing, keeping a nervous eye out for enemies.

"So, what can you tell me about yourself?" I asked. Seeing as how she wanted to get to know me, maybe she would like me to take an interest in her.

"Well, I already told you I wasn't very popular amongst the others back home. My parents and siblings were alright with me; I was family, so I guess they had to." Her voice took on a low tone, and I could tell this was a difficult subject for her. "My mother and father were more caring than any parents I had ever seen. They died protecting us as we ran out a hole in the back of our den. I was the only one strong enough to get away quickly; I was the oldest, and none of my siblings had evolved yet." She sniffed lightly, so I decided to quickly change the subject before she started crying again.

"I never had any siblings growing up; just my mother and father. They died when I was 10, a few days after I was cursed." She looked up at me, confused.

"How did you get cursed? You never told me that." I frowned, struggling to see if I could finally remember. "I don't know. You'd think I would remember a thing like that. I remember the day after the block in my memory, my parents said someone had broken in, but hadn't stolen anything. Maybe cursing me was their idea of a sick joke or something." I sighed heavily. _Why can't I remember? Maybe the sage will be able to tell me, if we can find him._

Suddenly, I felt a knife press against my neck. "Don't move and I won't tear your throat out." A deep voice said from behind and above me. I quickly assessed the situation. Obviously, this person was standing above me, so they had the advantage of me having to get up before I could strike. I saw two men in dark clothing emerge from the edges of the clearing, both heading for Vix. She looked between them wildly, pulling out her wand and holding it in front of her.

"That won't help you." The one on the left sneered. "We're with Team Blaze; our outfits are flame-resistant." I gritted my teeth. I had an idea, but it was risky. You see, prolonged use of my powers can make me a little… crazy. That's why I don't just conjure a sword and carry it with me. Along with that, the bigger things I create, the more it consumes me. I knew I would need something really big and fast to be able to take out the guy holding me down, so I thought fast. I moved my left arm so the tree was in the way of my attacker's line of sight, and felt it change.

My fingers melted together into a singularity, and then my entire forearm became hard and jagged, like a giant blade. I pressed the edge against the tree, testing how much force I would need for my plan, and then I struck. I kicked up at my attacker's arm, knocking the knife away for a moment. Then, I slammed my new blade-arm against the trunk of the tree, spinning around so I could push it onto the stranger with my right arm. When I was done with him, I turned to the other two.

They had just noticed that I was up, and each pulled out a katana. I smiled wickedly and turned my focus on the one to the left, driving my arm into the ground. A shallow fissure quickly traveled from the point of impact to the attacker's feet, and suddenly a giant black spike shot out of the ground, knocking him into a tree. I withdrew my arm, causing the spike to disappear. I looked around for the other one, who was nowhere to be seen. Out of nowhere, I felt a sharp pain in my back, and turned around.

He was standing behind me now, preparing to strike once again. _He actually snuck up behind me! How did I not hear him?_ I raised my arm to block the blow, and we stood there, struggling to bring down the others' weapon. _What is this man? How can he overcome my strength when I am using a shadowblade?_ I thought, bewildered. I heard a loud attack yell, and Vix flew out of nowhere and kicked the man in the face, causing him to reel back. He grabbed her by the fur around her neck and threw her aside.

My eyes widened as I felt my arm change back to normal for no apparent reason. I had a splitting headache, and my eyes burned. I dropped to my knees, grabbing my face and screeching in pain. _Oh, no,_ I thought, horrified, _it's been too long_. I felt my shoulder blades begin to press against my skin, and then burst out of my back as they lengthened. I looked out of the corner of my eye, and through my blurred vision, I saw them shift to form large, leathery wings. The bones in the tips of my fingers erupted from my hands, becoming sharp and curved at the points. I could see my silver bangs slowly turn black, as if someone was pouring dye onto them. And then I lost all of my senses but one. _Kill…_ I thought numbly.

I looked up at the man standing a few feet away from me. He was surprised by my new form: that much was certain, but he was not terrified to the point of being unable to move. He brought up his sword to try and bring it down on my head. I smiled with now pointed teeth, and simply caught the blade in my hand. I looked up at him, and saw his eyes widen at the sight of my now-black eyes. I ripped the sword from his hand, and as he backed away slowly, I snapped the blade in half. I looked at the broken shards I held and said in a layered, demonic voice, "Pathetic."

Then I looked at my target, and rushed at him with blinding speed. He only had a second to realize what was going on before I buried my clawed hand in his chest. He stared at my hand, and then at my face.

"W-who are you?" he whispered, choking.

I stared into his eyes. "I am nothing. And I am everything." Then, I spun around and threw him into the distance. I smiled sadistically. _Why didn't I let this happen before?_ I thought giddily. _All this power… I could do whatever I want!_ I heard a gasp behind me. I turned and saw the Braixen standing there. What was her name? I could barely remember my own name. Suddenly, I felt a sickening feeling in my stomach, like I was going to throw up acid, and I fell to my knees, suddenly weakened. She ran to my side and her eyes widened when she saw my back.

"Oh, Steven, you have to change back! You need to heal!" she reached out, and I felt a stinging in my back, and she held out a shuriken she had pulled out of me, dripping with my own blood and a curious green liquid. I looked at the young Braixen kneeling by me with confusion. I could tell she was afraid, but it wasn't because of my appearance. _This creature does not fear me. This creature… _cares_ for me… why?_

My vision began to fog, and I heard her sobbing, "Steven! You have to change back! You aren't healing like this!" I struggled to focus on her face. _She wants me to live,_ I realized. _How does she know me?_ Just then, I heard a familiar voice in the back of my head. It sounded like mine, but it wasn't layered. _It's _her_ you fool! If you don't turn back, you'll never see her again!_ I widened my eyes in fear. _VIX!_ And suddenly, all my memories came rushing back to me.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!" I bellowed in pain and fury. I felt my wings shrink and become normal shoulder blades, and I watched my fingers shorten through blurred and tear-filled eyes. I was me once again. I struggled to my feet, and felt my back tingle as the wound from the shuriken sealed. I opened my eyes, and saw Vix smiling at me, relieved.

"Vix…" I said wearily, and then I fell over. The last thing I remember was the ground suddenly stopping inches from my face.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Festival of Creation

When I woke up, it was late afternoon, and a golden sun was just beginning to dip below the trees. I was laying face-down on a bed of leaves, and I saw my shirt was hanging from a branch of a nearby tree. I pushed myself up carefully, and heard Vix say from behind, "So you're finally awake." I winced, and said in a low voice "I suppose you want me to explain what happened earlier." I turned to her and looked at her sadly. She was staring at me sternly. "If you can. And don't leave anything out this time." I looked at my feet guiltily, sighed deeply, and began. "I discovered long ago, when I was being mugged by this random gang, that I had the ability to conjure weapons from darkness. I had no idea where exactly they came from at the time, but for a little kid, being able to create swords and knives out of nothing was the coolest thing ever. So, I conjured up the biggest sword I could imagine, and suddenly, I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in the alley they had cornered me in, but you could barely tell it was a biker gang. I learned later, by eavesdropping on the conversations of people who had seen what happened, that I had taken on a demonic form, and literally ripped them to pieces with my bare hands." Vix looked at me with a mixture of fear and pity. I continued, "I later learned how to control it; I just needed to use my powers in short bursts at spread intervals. I wasn't completely cooled down back there, because of the fight last night, so that's why I changed." She nodded, understanding. "Why weren't you healing? It looked that assassin's poison was killing you." I shrugged. "I guess I just can't heal in that form. Maybe because all my powers are focused on the transformation, or just dumb luck. Well, bad luck actually, but you know what I mean." I could tell there was more bugging her. "Why did you change back so suddenly when I started talking to you?" she said. "I thought you didn't remember anything in that form." I smiled sadly. "I don't, but the reason I've never changed back quickly is because I didn't have any strong anchors in my memory. Since it was just me all alone on my journey, my normal mind couldn't latch onto anything and realize what I had become. With you nearby earlier, I realized I had changed, and quickly regained control." She smiled. "Well, this all makes sense, but let's try to not let that happen again, shall we?" I grinned back at her."Sure thing. The only reason I risked it was because there was no other way to get unpinned, and after that I got a little carried away. If something happens again, I'm sure I can handle it on my own." I demonstrated this by ninja-kicking the air in front of me. Vix giggled and said "Put your shirt back on, you dork." I smiled shyly, and grabbed my shirt off the branch. "Come on, we are just an hour away from the town." I said, turning back to the road. _I can't tell her the real reason I was able to snap back,_ I thought sadly, _what would she think of me then?_

Not long later, we reached the village of Malefia, a strange village that lived a renaissance-style life. Seriously, they had no electronics, farms all around, and an actual market filled with stands. I noticed there were tons of people gathered in the center of town, and I approached a local man to ask what the commotion was about. He was a chubby, jolly man, and kind of looked like Santa Clause. I tried not to laugh at this fact, of course "Oh, haven't you heard? It's the festival of the creator! Every year, we honor Arceus, the creator of our universe, and throw a huge party! There's lots of games and food, and when the sun sets, there is a great dance! It is the day we all look forward to." He smiled, obviously remembering festivals he had been to in the past. "Oh, wow, my friend and I were just passing through, but this sounds like too good of a chance to miss!" He smiled broadly and nodded. "I'll tell you, lad, you definitely want to stick around. Your friend wouldn't happen to be a girl by any chance, would they?" I blushed. "Well, yeah." I said shyly, looking over at Vix, who was studying the stands of exotic berries that had been imported by passing caravans. He grinned at me slyly, not seeing who I was looking at. "Then tonight's you're lucky night, my boy; many girls have fallen in love on the night of the Creation Festival. You have yourself a good time, lad; I need to get home to my family so we can eat before the party starts!" He waved goodbye, then disappeared into a crowd. I smiled to myself, surprised at the man's friendliness. I looked back over at Vix, who was being handed a berry by an old woman at the stand. She smiled gratefully, and tasted the berry, closing her eyes happily as she chewed. I sighed dreamily, and although I realized how weird it was that I was in love with a Pokemon, I had finally accepted it. Out of the Corner of my eye, I saw a jewelry stand, with hundreds of rings, necklaces, and bracelets covering its counter. I walked up to it casually, and caught sight of a beautiful ruby pendant. It was cut to be shaped like a heart, and was held by a thin golden chain. "I see you've taken a notice of the Love Amulet." I heard a vpice from behind the counter say. It was a young woman, maybe in her late 20's, with shoulder length brown hair. She was smiling at me. "It is enchanted with a spell that makes anyone who has fallen in love take great notice of it. I expected more people to go for it, but you are the first one all day." I grinned shyly. "How much for it?" I asked. She smiled broadly. "This? Oh, no, it isn't for sale. It is a gift. You see, I knew that anyone who saw it would want to give it to the one they loved. If they cared enough to ask for it, or believed this would help their cause, then I planned to give it to them." She took the amulet off of its peg, and gently handed it to me. "I know what you are," she whispered intensely as I took the amulet, "And I know the truth behind that Braixen you are eyeing." I widened my eyes in fear, and she lost her serious tone and smiled gently. "It's ok, I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm a psychic, and I like to read the minds of those who are given the Love Amulet each year. Yours, I must say, is my favorite story." I chuckled shyly. "It isn't weird, is it? I mean, you know…" she got serious again. "Of course not. You care about her and respect her; that is true love. It doesn't matter if it's between humans or a Pokemon and a human, as long as they truly love each other." I looked over at Vix, and saw she was starting to come this way. I turned bac to the woman and quickly asked "Can you tell how she feels about me?" but she simply shook her head. "I have a personal moral code that only allows me to read the mind of the one who receives the Love Amulet, and I only look at the basics of who they are. Where this gift will take you, you must find out for yourself." She looked over at Vix, smiled slightly and looked back at me. "She's very pretty, by the way." I blushed. "I know. Thank you for the amulet." The lady behind the counter waved as I walked away. "Good luck!" she called. I ran up to Vix and said "Why don't we stick around for tonight, and worry about finding the sage tomorrow?" Vix nodded excitedly. "That sounds like a great idea! The woman at the berry stand must have been blind, because she thought I was a little girl, and told me that the festival was the greatest gathering all year!" I grinned widely. "Then why don't we find a place we can stay for the night and rest up so we can have a great time tonight?" She nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. I realized I was still holding the amulet in my closed fist, so I quickly jammed it in my pocket, pretending I was just casually putting my hands in my pockets in a relaxed way. _Well, let's hope this goes well,_ I thought, being cautiously optimistic as we headed for a nearby inn.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Out of Options

The Festival of Creation; I couldn't believe I had never heard of it before! Everyone from the village, and even some people from neighboring towns, was all gathered in the center of the town, dancing around a marble fountain with a Gyarados as the main centerpiece, and some other water Pokémon around it. I had never felt the way I did before, so… happy and carefree. I saw a group of people holding hands, and Vix looked at me excitedly. "Should we join?" she asked me, giggling. I smiled slightly. "I don't know…" I said slowly. I may have been happy, but I didn't want to end up looking like a fool. Vix gave me a mischievous look, and then grabbed my wrist and swung me into the circle. I shouted as I was swept up in the current, and moments later she took her place beside me, laughing wildly. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and smiled softly. The glow of the lanterns and torches all around us illuminated her in an orange light, and she looked more beautiful than ever. I swallowed hard. _I need to do it soon, before I lose my nerve_ I thought nervously. As the song ended and the circle separated, Vix and I made our way to the edge of the fountain. She sat down, breathing hard. "I had no idea festivals were so much fun! We need to find more places like this, don't you agree, Steven?" She looked at me, but I wasn't paying attention. I was feeling the heart-shaped stone in my pocket. _NOW! _I thought with pure determination. "Steven, are you okay?" Vix had her paw on my shoulder. I looked at her, and she had a worried look on her face. I smiled and said, "I'm just fine. I couldn't be better, actually. Which reminds me, I got you something." I kneeled in front of her as I pulled the amulet out of my pocket, and held it out for her. It shone like a red star in the orange light of the lanterns all around. Her eyes widened like saucers as she slowly took the amulet and turned it in her paws. "Steven, you shouldn't-"she started, but I held up a hand, looking at my feet. "Yes, I should. You see, there's something… something I've wanted to tell you, but I wasn't sure if I was ready. Tonight, though, this festival, all the dancing and the music, I realize now that I am." I looked up now, right at her eyes. They were even wider. I smiled gently as I said "Vix, I love you. And I have loved you since the moment I picked you up and carried you out of the woods. That is why I fight so hard to protect you: not just because we are friends, but because I wouldn't be able to go on living without you by my side." Her eyes softened, like she was on the verge of crying, and she whispered, "Oh, Steven, I…" and she broke off as she lowered her head, and tears began to fall onto her lap. I lifted her chin and looked into her teary eyes. _Now, finish it!_ I thought. I wrapped my arms around her, and looked into her eyes once more, and this time she didn't look away. We slowly leaned towards each other, eyes closing slowly, until… I heard a loud screaming that shocked me out of the perfect moment. I turned sharply, and saw a crowd of people running from the west exit of the village. I jumped onto the fountain to see what the problem was. "What is it?" Vix asked urgently, and I clenched my fists when I saw. "Team Blaze." I said darkly. "They caught up to us." They had us surrounded in a flash, all of them holding Poke Balls at the ready. I held up my arms defensively, planning to only form a weapon when the moment was right. Just then, the crown parted, and a man in a black suit came out from the group. He smiled at me gently, but his eyes were cold and empty. He had long-ish hair, about the same length as mine, but it was jet black. "I'm sorry to interrupt the festivities, but that Braixen needs to come with me." He said in a calm tone. I stepped forward defiantly. "I don't think that's happening tonight, pal." He looked confused. "We outnumber you nearly 50 to one. Why do you still stand against us? Just give up, and you can go on your way." I looked him in the eyes, showing no weakness. "Because it's what I have to do. This Braixen is under my protection, and I WILL NOT FAIL HER!" I shouted angrily. A few of the Team Blaze grunts looked uncertain. Obviously they had heard of my power from the two I had put to sleep, but didn't believe it until now. The man closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "Well then, I guess this calls for an alternate method of removing obstacles." He snapped his fingers, and a grunt brought him a pitch-black Poke Ball with a red button. He looked me in the eye and said "This is my custom design for a Poke Ball. Only this one exists, and its sole purpose is to contain my only Pokémon. It is similar to a Master Ball, but it makes the trapped Pokémon much more powerful and savage to anyone except its trainer, whom it would die to protect." He tossed it into the air and shouted "GO, YVELTAL!" as it exploded into a cluster of black clouds. I could see a silhouette inside it, but couldn't tell what it was. Suddenly, the creature flapped its great wings, and revealed its terrible form. It was a great, red bird-like Pokémon, with huge claws on the ends of its wings and tail. It had two forward-swept horns on its head, and a collar made of ruffled, grey feathers. It landed heavily, kicking up dust around the town square, and looked at me with pure hate. I looked at it curiously. I felt some sort of connection to the beast, which could only mean it was an extremely powerful dark-type. I looked back at the man. "Who are you? What do you want?" I asked, trying to hide my surprise. He smiled, looking straight at me with his empty, grey eyes. "I am Silus, leader of Team Blaze, and I seek power. I want to become so powerful, that no one, human and Pokémon alike, can challenge me." He turned to his Pokémon and said so quietly that I could just barely hear him, "Fight him, but do not kill him." Yveltal nodded to its master, and then turned to me. It took to the skies, and hovered in the air. With its tail and wings spread, it looked like a great, red Y in the sky. I drew back my hand, forming several knives between my fingers, and threw them all at the beast. I saw them explode, but it didn't appear to be harmed at all. "Oblivion Wing." I heard Silus call, and Yveltal's wing became shrouded in a dark aura. It flapped its wings, sending the dark energy straight towards me. In that instant, I drew my helix sword to block the oncoming attack, but its impact still pushed me back. I struggled to retain my footing as I slowly moved towards a small building. I pushed at the wave with all my might, but it was no use. As I felt my back press against the building, I saw a crack slowly form down the length of the blade. _Please, no,_ I pleaded silently, when suddenly the blade exploded, and the wave of dark energy hit me as if I hadn't been blocking at all. I felt all my strength drain from my body, and through my blurred vision, I saw two grunts holding Vix by her arms and carrying her away. I reached out, wincing in pain, when a black shoe slowly pressed my arm to the ground. I heard Silus whisper, "Try and save her if you want to, but it won't do you any good. I'm going to find out what makes her so smart, and make more like her. My Yveltal and I shall usher in a new era, Team Blaze will rule the entire world, and it will be because you failed." He removed his foot, and I saw him walk away slowly. Then, my eyes slowly closed as I lost the energy to keep them open. Then, I lost the energy to realize they were closed.


	6. Chapter 6

Extra special thanks to Logan96 for his help on the next few chapters and posting the first 5 on another fanfiction site! (I'm don't know if I'm allowed to post a link to another site… eh, better safe than sorry)

Chapter 6

Recovery

I awoke suddenly, my entire body racked with pain. I opened my eyes slowly so they could adjust to the light. It was morning, just after dawn, but I had no idea how long it had been since the festival. _The festival…_ I thought suddenly. Everything flooded back to me in that moment: the attack, Silus, his terrifyingly strong pokémon, and Vix being dragged away. I stood up slowly and took a few steps, and then collapsed suddenly, for I had not regained enough strength to properly move. As I got to my knees, I felt a stinging on my chest, and when I looked down, I saw my shirt was torn in half, and I had a giant scar where the creature's attack had struck me. I looked around at the destruction Team Blaze had left behind. Every window in every building was smashed, any wooden structures lay in smoldering piles, and stone buildings had simply been knocked over. The fountain I had almost kissed Vix on had been leveled, and the Gyarados centerpiece was unrecognizable. I looked around in despair at the destruction around me, and held my head in my hands. _This can't be happening;_ I tried convincing myself, _this is all just a dream. _I kept going on like this for a few minutes, and after that I knew there was no going back. She was gone, and I had failed to protect her. I got up slowly, this time maintaining my balance, and began to walk to the edge of the village, hoping to find my death in the woods beyond.

I had grabbed a blanket that was reasonably intact from one of the homes, and was wearing it like a cloak. I walked down the path, staring straight ahead, not blinking. I heard footsteps behind me; they had been following me for nearly half an hour now. I stopped and sighed. "Whoever you are, I can assure you I have nothing for you, so stop following me." I turned and was surprised to see an old man. He looked at me funny and replied, "Dear boy, I wish you no harm. I wish to help you. Come with me to my house at the foot of the mountain." I wasn't convinced. "Why didn't you say something before instead of making me think you wanted to rob me? If I had been in the mood for fighting, I could have destroyed you without thinking." He smiled sadly. "I was unsure if you were indeed who I thought you were." He was a strange one, all right. He wore black robes, and had a beard that hung down to his stomach. He was frail looking, but his eyes had a fiery strength in them. "And who exactly did you think I was that made you follow me for so long?" I asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. He looked me directly in the eye, and said flatly, "You are the boy who is searching for me; the one with the Curse of Solitude. Now, come with me, and I can help you." I turned away and continued walking. "There is no helping me. Not anymore." He jogged up to my side. "And why is that? There is always a chance at helping someone." I stopped and glared at him. "Not the help I need. I do not need to be cured of my condition so I can live a normal life. What I need is a way to defeat an impossibly strong enemy in order to protect the girl I love, but now she's gone, and THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO!" I screamed suddenly out of rage. He looked confused. "Aren't you tired of being alone? Isn't that why you sought me out?" I looked at the ground and shook my head sadly. "That was before I lost her. Now..." I continued down the path. "Now I know that getting rid of this curse will only make me feel more alone than ever." He continued to walk with me. "I understand how you feel, and I cannot force you to let me get rid of the curse for you. But what I can do is teach you how to use it, how to control it, and how to get your loved one back." This caught my attention. I stopped, and slowly turned my head towards him. "How?" I asked slowly, not sure what to think of it. It sounded a little too good to be true. I mean, that creature, "Yveltal", Silus had called it, unleashed enough energy to shatter one of my blades and drain all of my strength. How could there possibly be a way to defeat it? The man smiled, obviously glad he had finally convinced me. "Come with me. I will explain everything soon enough."

We reached the man's cabin not too long later. It was at the foot of the mountain, just as I had heard. The inside of his house was decorated with strange and ancient statues, and in the center was a stone table and 2 wooden chairs. He began to cook some stew on a stove as I sat down, and gave me a glass of water. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was, and drank it all in a flash. "Now, where shall I begin?" he asked, deep in thought. I shrugged. "Why not about the basics of the curse?" I suggested. He smiled. "AH, yes, a good place to start. You see, the curse is an ancient and complicated one. It was originally a way to create powerful servants, but enchanters found that slaying one who was cursed granted them the powers as well. You see, this curse could not affect those who were already skilled in sorcery, and could only be used on a child younger than 10 years old. They would grow up, alone, until one day, the enchanter would return and kill the child, and gain the powers for himself, but much stronger." I looked at the floor. "So what, the enchanter just lost track of me?" I asked, confused. The old man got up to get the stew, and continued; "I would assume so, and you should be grateful, for now that enchanter has one disadvantage: you have had enough time to get used to and train with your powers." He handed me a bowl and a spoon, then sat back down in his chair. I knew I had a new threat that had most likely been searching for me for 5 years, but I couldn't move my focus from my current goal. "Well, now I know how and why I am the way I am, but it doesn't help me save Vix." The old man looked at me, then got up and quickly rushed to a bookcase. He scanned the shelf for a moment, then pulled down a thick volume and rushed back. He handed me the book, and I saw the cover was emblazoned with "The Power of Shadows" on the front in golden letters. "This book is for those wishing to take darkness and use it as a weapon." He began. "Fortunately, the first few chapters are about gaining this power, but you have that part done, so we can skip right to training. Now, what can you do so far?" I thought about this for a moment. "Materialize weapons, put people to sleep, and excessive use of these powers makes me lose control and become a demon… that's about all that comes to mind." He nodded quickly. "Good, good, then you are already quite a ways on the path. Now, we must help you go further." He stood up and walked to a pillar in the center of the room, and moved a flag hanging from it to reveal a large button. He pushed it, and a moment later, the house began to shake as a large portion of the floor on the far side of the house shifted away, to reveal a tunnel that lead underground. "Let us begin your training." He smiled, beckoning me to the darkness. I followed wordlessly. _I do not completely trust this man,_ I thought to myself, _but if he can teach me to use my powers, I can rescue Vix. I will make Silus pay. Even if it's the last thing I do on this Earth._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Focusing

"Come on, boy, you need to put all your power into each attack!" The old man was putting me through hell. There were several targets set up around the underground cave, and several torches to provide light. I was practicing with my ranged shadow knife attacks, but every time I had to pour more and more energy into it, and it was tiring.

"Why am I doing this again? You don't even seem to care when I hit the targets."

He gave me a serious look. "Your aim isn't the problem; it's your other form. You need to be able to control it, for it can be an invaluable asset to you in combat, and I have an idea. Do you know about lucid dreaming?"

I had tried lucid dreaming before, but I could never quite get it to work. "Yeah, I know what it is." He grinned. "I think your demonic form might be like putting your mind into a dream. If we get you to the point when you are just about 'asleep', but you are still 'awake' in your mind, you might be able to transform without worrying about corruption."

I raised an eyebrow, and he noticed I was still confused. "You have spent all these years being afraid of the demon within you. Isn't it about time you took that fear and used it to your advantage? You must plan on becoming a demon; _that_ is how you maintain control." I was still unsure about the whole thing. "So you are willing to risk this? Do you have any idea of what could happen if I change?" I was getting angry and worried. This guy was way too cryptic and mysterious, and never told me exactly what was going on. He held up his hands to try and calm me down.

"I had you use the knives because they are the weakest shadow weapons. You would be able to tell if the form was taking control, and quickly stop." I sighed. He was right; I could feel like there was another consciousness was beginning to stir within me. "Alright. How can I tell if I'm turning?" He grinned, glad that I understood. "You will feel the symptoms of your transformation-headaches, dark visions, and the slow physical transformation of your body. This is how we begin: slow, deliberate transformations. If you keep practicing, you can control your new form after using the strongest of attacks and having an immediate transformation."

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling coming from upstairs. The old man looked at me mischievously. "It appears we have visitors." He ran to a telescope-like object coming out of the wall and peeked in. "Team Blaze appears to be looking for you, my boy." I felt my head begin to burn; I wasn't sure if it was from anger or the transformation at first, but I was certain the moment I felt my shoulder blades begin to shift.

"It's happening!" I whispered to him loudly. He smiled darkly. "Then we can begin." He ran to a far wall and hit a button on a large control panel. I heard a whoosh, and then panicked cries from above. "I sent a draft of air to blow out the lights upstairs. You will have cover in darkness; now go!" He pushed me towards the trapdoor as it slowly opened. I quietly moved to a far corner of the room and waited to become a monster.

I felt my wings and claws begin to form, and my eyes burned as they darkened and became as black as the room around me. My hair darkened and lost its smoothness, becoming rough and matted. My skin paled, and my senses become more acute.

_The old man was right, _I thought excitedly. _I've never gotten this far without losing focus before!_ Just then, the room lit up, as if the lights had turned on, but none of the grunts had noticed me. _I must have some kind of night vision,_ I thought, smiling cruelly. I turned to the nearest grunt and placed my hand over his mouth, whilst wrapping my other arm around his neck. With my incredible strength, he was unconscious in seconds. I looked at another one and notice he had figured out how to get his flashlight working. I ran silently to a corner behind them and waited for them to see their partner. I heard a gasp and a yell when the beam of light passed over the body, and that was when I struck. I ran out of the corner, grabbing one of them by the neck, and swung him around, slamming him and another into the opposing wall. I dropped the one I was holding, and walked heavily up to the remaining one. He was absolutely terrified, but made no effort to get away. _I guess people really can be paralyzed in fear,_ I thought as I picked him up by the collar of his uniform. "You tell Silus I'm coming for him. You tell him I will see to it that he pays for the pain he has caused." And with that, I kicked open the door behind him and threw him outside. I watched him scramble to his feet and run away from the cabin.

I burst out laughing, and the old man came out from the cave, clapping loudly. "That was brilliant, my boy!" he said, chuckling. I grinned and asked "Now how do I change back?" He pondered this for a moment, and then raised a finger. "Ah ha, I remember now! You simply need to focus on your old self, _focus_ on becoming human again. Or, of course, just wait for it to run out of time, and you will revert automatically." I decided that was enough training for today. It was cool having all these new powers, but I preferred to be _me_. I closed my eyes and began to focus on the real me, a boy with shoulder length silver hair and hazel eyes. A boy who, just a few days ago, had fallen in love with the last thing he would ever think of: a Pokémon. Just then, I remembered what I had said the night of the festival.

_I told her I loved her,_ I thought sadly. _I really meant it. I have to save her. If I don't… no. I will save her, and this old man is going to teach me to use the skills I need to do just that._ As the last of my altered features faded away, I opened my eyes and smiled darkly at the old man. "Now, tell me more of my powers. I want to know everything I can do, both in my human and demonic forms. I want to have a wide variety of options when I kill Silus." The old man smiled, his as dark as mine.

"If variety is what you want, you won't be disappointed. I will show you there is more you can do besides conjure a few smoky weapons. But, we've had a long day. We must rest, and we shall continue tomorrow." He turned to go upstairs and retire to his room, but I still had many questions. One question, however, was burning in the back of my head more than any other: "Hey, why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" He stopped and turned slowly. "A wildfire destroys everything around it. You, however, only want to destroy that which is evil. Besides, if I don't train you, then there's a chance that you will change, and won't be able to change back. What happens then?" he said flatly. I nodded. "Thank you. I need this, not only for the safety of those around me, but so I can rescue my friend." He smiled. "Believe me, when you complete your training, Silus is going to need a lot more than Yveltal to defeat you. We must hurry, though, for Silus has probably realized he can use your powers to his advantage, and now he will know you were not killed in the attack; that may be why they came here." He started to laugh. "Now, let's turn in for the night. Tomorrow, you are going to learn to use attacks that involve using darkness in its purest form, and that is when it is at its deadliest." He went up the stairs and I heard a door close upstairs. I sighed heavily, and looked out the window at the night sky.

_I'm going to save you Vix. I just need to train for a few more days, and then I will be strong enough to fight Silus. I hope…_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Advanced Shadows 101

"So, are you ready to begin your advanced training?" The old man had led me out into a nearby forest. Today I was going to learn how to use non-weapon shadow attacks, and I was excited. There was one thing that was bugging me, however. "So, wait, why are we here? What am I going to train with?" There was nothing around but trees. The old man grinned craftily. "I have gathered information on a Team Blaze patrol going through this area. They will be arriving…" He looked down at a watch on his wrist, and his eyes widened. "Oh my, they will be here right about… now!" He threw a small object at his feet, and it exploded in a cloud of smoke. He was no longer there, but I could still somehow hear him. "Now, when they arrive, try focusing on a wave attack. If it helps, you can use your blade as the base of the attack, but focus hard on your target at a distance when you swing." His voice sounded electronic, as if he were using an intercom system. I heard a rustling off to my right, and turned to see 4 men wearing the Team Blaze uniform. The one in front pointed and shouted "Get him!" They grabbed their Poke Balls and threw them in the air. Suddenly, a Talonflame, Arcanine, and Pyroar appeared. The leader grabbed his own and threw it, and a Heatran appeared. I raised an eyebrow. "Is it required that all high-ranking members have legendary Pokemon?" He smiled dangerously. "Actually, it's the other way around; the stronger your Pokémon is, the higher ranked you become!" I shrugged and held out my arm, summoning my helix blade. "I guess we'll find out if you're really worthy of that position!" I turned my gaze to a grunt on the far right and focused hard and swung my blade as hard as I could. I was hoping it would go the way I wanted it on the first try, but my strength ended up spinning me around, causing me to fall flat on my back. The 4 grunts began to laugh as I struggled to my feet. "Come on, boy. You need to focus entirely on the attack. Don't focus all on the swing, focus on the wave." The grunts began to look around wildly. "Who the hell was that?" the leader shouted. I ignored him and shifted my focus back at the grunt I was aiming at before and took a deep breath. _Complete focus, no distractions _I thought as I raised my blade above my head. I brought it down swiftly, but not as powerful as before. The moment the blade was lowered, a crescent of pure black energy shot at the grunt, its impact knocking him into a nearby tree. The leaders eyes widened as he looked between his comrade and me. Then he smiled, saying "This should be interesting." He nodded to his Heatran, and it stomped on the ground, creating a large fissure in the ground, and as it opened I saw it was filled with boiling how magma. I jumped back as the spot I had been standing on suddenly collapsed into the ground, the dirt and grass burning to form a choking black smoke. I looked at the Heatran, which was at that moment forming a huge fireball in its mouth. I had an instant to realize what was going on before a huge wave of fire slammed into me. It's impact didn't move me at all, but it completely burned my arms, back and legs. I was able to quickly duck down out of instinct, protecting my face and chest. I stood up, gritting my teeth as my scorched back began to heal. I looked at the man angrily. "That was the third shirt this week you assholes have destroyed!" I decided to try something new. I dropped the sword, causing it to fade away, and then I placed my hands together and raised them above my head. Then, I swung them downward until they were level with my knees. The result was a black wave larger than the first to shoot out from the tips of my fingers. The leader and Heatran jumped out out of the way in time, but one of the grunts behind him was unlucky enough to not see it in time. He, like the one before him, was slammed backward into a tree. The remaining grunt and the pokemon now knew I was more than a match for them, so they quickly gathered their unconscious allies and ran off. The leader wasn't afraid, though; I saw a look in his eyes that told me he wasn't backing away. "Silus has been studying your powers, and has put up a huge reward for your capture." He smiled viciously. "with cash like that, I could quit this stupid job and go live on a beach somewhere, in a huge house." I narrowed my eyes. "That's the thing about 'dreams'," I said, re-summoning my sword."You only believe in them while you're sleeping. Me, I don't have dreams. I have hopes and wishes, because hopes and wishes you can strive for. Dreams are just a memory from when you are asleep." I began to charge at him with my sword, ignoring the training parameters. The Heatran tried to stop me, but I had already learned how to utilize non-physical attacks. I formed a shadow wave on my sword, but did not launch it, strengthening my blade. I pushed the Heatran backwards slowly, it's eyes wide with fear. Obviously it had never fought anything that could move it, and now that it had, it was uncertain of what to do. It quickly slipped from under my sword and ran off to the side, hiding behind a tree. I looked at the leader and smirked. "Just you and me. Still feeling tough?" He gritted his teeth. "I don't need a Pokemon to defeat you!" He shouted as he pulled a combat knife out from each of his boots. He held them backwards and charged at me full speed. I smiled, for he hadn't realized that I still had a wave of energy on my sword. I swung my sword horizontally, and the wave flew out, bouncing off the ground on the way to its target. The leader simply slid underneath it, and I felt a pain in my arm as he ran past. I dropped to my knees and screamed, and I saw a knife through my left arm when I glanced over. I was really mad, now. _Okay, then. You want a fight? I'll give you a fight._

I turned and glared at him intensely. "I'm going to ask you like this only once: Where is Silus, and where is he keeping Vix?" I said, struggling to keep my demonic side down. Even with my training on controlling it, I knew that if it came out while I was angry like this, I would lose control again. And this time, Vix wasn't here to snap me back before I went on a rampage. The man laughed cruelly. "What the hell are you thinking that I'm just going to give up that information freely? I'm not afraid of you, even with your smoke tricks and magic swords." He tossed his dagger in the air, caught it in his teeth, and then pulled two more daggers from sheathes at his sides. I stared at him for a moment. "Have it your way." I sighed. I focused on my arm, concentrating all my power into it. My arm began to glow a dark red, and black smoke began to trail off of it, blowing behind me in the gentle breeze. He gave me a funny look, then shrugged and charged at me. I closed my eyes and continued to focus on my attack. I knew I had to time this just right; I only had one shot, and if I struck too early or too late, he would tear me apart. I listened carefully, the sound of his footsteps getting louder as he drew closer. _Wait for it,_ I thought slowly. After what seemed like forever, I snapped my eyes open and spun around, my glowing arm connecting with the man's head like a baseball bat. At that precise moment, I unleashed all the energy I had stored, and the wave sent him sprawling across the battle field, his head just over the edge of the crevice his Heatran had created. I walked up to him and pressed my shoe on his chest as I summoned up another sword. "Now, tell me where Silus and Vix are, or I slow roast you on this. And you don't want to know where it's going." I demanded in a low, menacing voice. He looked to his sides and saw his dagger just out in his reach. He grinned and quickly grabbed at it, but he only screamed in pain when I pinned his hand to the ground with a shadowy kunai. He looked me in the eye, finally have given up. "Alright, fine. If you go south from here, you'll reach a port with a carrier just offshore. He's got your Pokémon on there, along with the full numbers of Team Blaze." I glared at him, deciding whether he was telling the truth or not. When I was satisfied, I moved my foot off of his chest, and kicked his daggers into the lava pit. "Okay, then. You have ten seconds to get out of my sight before I decide to finish this." He didn't delay; he immediately turned and ran off as fast as he could. After about five seconds, he was out of my sight. I heard the old man on loudspeaker again. "Good work, Steven! Nice use of mixed tactics, both energy and weaponized attack! Come on back and rest; we'll begin your final lesson tomorrow." I turned towards the cabin and slowly trekked back. I was just now feeling the fatigue of the battle, but on the plus side I had successfully quelled my demonic side. _A carrier…_ I thought numbly, _rescuing Vix is going to be trickier than I thought._ I looked to the south, where the Team Blaze member had said the port was. _One more lesson,_ I thought happily, _Then I can save her. I just hope I won't be too late._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Reveal

I woke to the sound of a tea kettle whistling. I got up slowly, making sure not to put too much weight on my arm left arm: it was bandaged after the fight from the previous day, when a high-ranking member of Team Blaze had stabbed me. I walked down the stairs, and the old man looked delighted. "Ah, Steven, I thought you might want a good meal before you left!" He motioned to some biscuits and ham on the table as he poured some tea for us. I sat down and began to eat, and suddenly II thought of something. "Hey, what is this all about? I'm going to use my powers to kill a man, so why help me strengthen them?" The old man gave me a cryptic smile. "All in good time. Now, eat; you have quite a road ahead of you, and you need to keep up your strength if you want to make it to the port!" I stared for a moment, wondering what he meant by "all in good time", then dismissed it as I began to eat. It was amazing; the biscuits were flakey and buttery, the ham was juicy and flavorful, and the tea… well, I'm not a tea person, but it was alright. The old man began to pack some things in a satchel, and grabbed the cloak I had worn when he found me in the village a few days earlier. I took them gratefully, and started out the door.

I looked on towards the southern horizon, and sighed. _This is it,_ I thought, _this is when I rescue Vix. I just have to keep pressing on and-_ my thoughts were interrupted by a stabbing pain in my head. I doubled over and screamed, clutching my forehead in agony. The old man rushed to my side. "Oh, Steven, are you all right?" he asked worriedly. I could barely speak, but I managed t get out "Head… burning," I heard the old man stand up and sigh. "Ah, then that means my poison has worked." I stopped breathing for a moment. "W-what?" I asked in the haze of my headache. I saw through blurred eyes that the old man had begun pacing back and forth in front of me. "You see, Steven, your curse is a unique one. Sure it gives you all the amazing powers, but it does have an even greater purpose: if the caster successfully kills the child they cursed, they gain extended youth; even more so if the child has a good understanding of how to use their powers." I looked up at him, struggling to see. I began to hear a loud ringing in my ears, and I couldn't smell anything. My hands felt numb, like I couldn't feel anything, and I realized what this "poison" did. _I shuts down the senses,_ I thought foggily. "You do realize what this means, don't you?" The old man asked in an all-too-kind voice. That's when it hit me. "You're the enchanter," I groaned, the splitting headache beginning to fade, but my senses hadn't recovered quite yet. "you cursed me all those years ago when I was a child." The old man chuckled. "That's right! That's why I trained you: so you could become stronger, and in turn, so I could become stronger when I killed you." I struggled to my feet, and aimed a swift punch at the old man. He stepped aside, and I slammed into the ground. "No, no, no, none of that." He said gently. I heard a metallic noise, like a knife being drawn from a sheath, and I realized what was going to happen. I tried to roll away, but he stopped me by pinning me down with his foot. _He's a lot stronger than he looks,_ I thought angrily. I writhed around, struggling to break free, but he only pressed harder. I was about to give up, when a deep voice in the back of my mind said _You cannot give up! Her fate rests in your hands!_ I ignored this. _And how am I going to get out of this? I can't see or hear, so how can I fight him? _The voice chuckled. _You do not have to let him fight; let me._ And that's when I realized who I was speaking to. I smiled as I felt my shoulder blades begin to shift, and my vision and hearing returned.

The old man laughed wickedly. "And now, with your death, comes my- What?" He noticed I was changing a split second before I threw him off of me. I stood up slowly as my hair darkened and my skin paled. Bat-like wings exploded from my back, and my fingers and toes sharpened to form dagger-like claws. I smiled and spoke in a voice that was mine layered with the voice I had heard in my mind. "Thank you, old man, for teaching me how to control my powers. By doing so, you have given consciousness to the demon within me, and I can use his powers without fear." The old man grinned psychotically. "You think you are the only one with demons? Let me show you mine!" he screamed, and then he dropped to the ground as he began to change. His hair stayed white, but it grew long, down to his back. His left arm remained unchanged, while his right arm turned into a large, twisted-looking blade. His knees became pointed, and his back erupted into a mass of four large wings. He opened his eyes, which glowed with a burning anger. I took a step back, surprised at the old man's transformation. "On top of extending my life, when I kill the curse-bearer, I absorb their powers. I have killed five so far, and have trained for nearly a thousand years! You cannot possibly hope to defeat me!" he roared. I looked him over blankly. "Yes, you have a powerful form, and much more experience than I do, but I have something you don't." He looked at me, confused. "And what is that, boy?" he growled. I summoned my signature helix blade and held it at my side. "A reason to fight!" I said as I swung the sword, launching a wave of energy at him. The attack caught him off guard, but it only staggered him. He began to laugh. "You think a puny attack like that can stop me?" he said as he held his normal arm out. I watched as a giant scythe formed in the air, and he slowly wrapped his fingers around it. "I'll show you an attack." He swung the scythe into the ground, and a giant black pit opened up between us. I could hear cries of torment coming from below, and I could only assume that I was staring into hell itself. I looked at the old man, and he smiled with what I saw were razor sharp teeth. "Face it, boy; you aren't going to be able to save your Pokémon. You're going to end up here, just like all my countless victims." I saw a flash of movement, and before I could react, the scythe was embedded in the center of my chest. I looked at it in disbelief, and fell to my knees with a groan. Consciousness was already leaving me, and I knew I had failed. "Now, to claim that which I gave you, so long ago." He walked over to me and lifted me up by my shoulder. I groaned, struggling to speak, and he smiled. "Ah, some last words? Go ahead, but make them worthwhile." I coughed and slowly said. "I promised…" I began.

"You promised what?" the old man chuckled. "I don't want you to leave anything unsaid." I lifted my head and looked him in the eye, suddenly losing all control. "I promised… I PROMISED I WOULD PROTECT HER!" I screamed, and in a split second I swung my sword up and slice off his bladed arm. He screeched in pain, and I leaped from his grasp, a sudden adrenaline rush restoring my strength. I shot over to the other side of the pit, and held my hands in the air as I formed a massive ball of black energy above my head. He looked at me in fear as I said in a voice that was not at all my own: "Now you may share in your victims' fate." I hurled the ball at him, the explosion knocking him into the air. I flew after him, grabbing his severed arm, and rapidly began stabbing and slicing him as we climbed up and up. When he reached the height of his ascent, I cast aside my weapons, and we hovered in the air for a few moments. "H-how?" he gasped, "how could you have defeated me? Your power is only a fraction of mine." I gritted my teeth as I balled my hands together. "Because you fight only to extend your life. I fight to save the girl I love!" I shouted as I slammed my hands down in a sledgehammer blow that sent him flying straight into the pit he had opened. As he sank into the darkness, I heard the screams of pain slowly turn into mocking laughter as the pit slowly closed. I landed gently, and my features slowly returned to normal. _Thank you,_ I thought to the voice in my head, _but why did you help me?_ I heard deep laughter as he replied _because I am not simply a demon within you; I _am_ you, to some extent. I represent your emotions. I may not love Vix like you do, but I do wish to save her. And, of course, if you die, I die, and I couldn't let that happen._ He began to laugh, and I couldn't help but smile. _Do you have a name?_ I asked him silently. _I do, but it cannot be pronounced or understood by mortal beings. Simply call me… Umbra._ I nodded to myself. _Okay, Umbra, are you ready?_ I looked once again to the south, and sighed. "Finally, I can bring my quest to an end." And with that, I started down the trail. I saw the sun rising in the east, just as it did on the day I had left that abandoned house with Vix. I smiled slowly, and I had a good feeling things were going to get better soon.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Beginning of the End

It took me about half a day to reach the harbor town the Team Flare member had told me I would be able to find the carrier at. All the while, Umbra was telling me the story behind the curse.

_The old man was correct,_ he began, _that the Curse of Solitude is placed on a child when they are about 10 years old, and when they reach 15 or 16, the enchanter who placed the curse will seek out the child and kill them, thus extending their life, and absorbing the curse, making them stronger._ I nodded to myself. _What about you? How do I have a demon living inside of my head?_ I asked. I heard him chuckle as he spoke, _I am no longer a true demon, merely a spirit that is bound to you. You see, one of the things needed for the curse is the horn of a demon, so I assume he used mine. When he used the curse on you, my dormant consciousness was passed into you. All I needed to be revived was a huge emotional spike, like when you were about to die. You realized if you died, Vix would also die, and your resulting rage awoke me. Thank you, by the way; I was afraid I would never be able to see this world again._

I smiled. _No problem man._ Suddenly, I heard a rustling coming from my left. I glanced to the side and saw a Machamp charge from the brush at me full speed. I had no time to move before it uppercutted me and sent me flying into a small pond on the other side of the path. I quickly jumped out in time to see it coming in for a second strike, but I was ready this time: I jumped, using its head as a step, and flipped over it, landing gently on the ground behind it. I conjured a handful of kunai, holding them in a ready position, and spoke clearly, "You can come out now, whoever's pokemon this is."

I saw the bushes near the pond shift as familiar bearded man came out from the brush, the one I had met the night of the festival. His eyes widened when he saw me. "You're alive! I thought that creature had killed you back there!" he ran up and swung me around in his arms happily, and then gently set me down. "Sorry about all that. I'm keeping guard out here, making sure Team Blaze doesn't try and attack here. I don't want them killing anyone else." He looked down sadly and I realized what had happened. "They… they killed your family?" I asked gently. He nodded. "But I'm not letting them get away with it. Quads and I are sabotaging their supply shipments. They'll have to come out of that damned carrier on their own at some point." He said triumphantly. "Oh, I just realized we've never been introduced. My name is Leon." I nodded. "Steven." I said simply. "Can you bring me to the town? I have to look into some things there." He smiled. "Of course, my boy! Say, where is the girl you said you were with at the festival?" I remembered he didn't know who Vix really was. I smiled, hiding what had happened to her, and said "I'm meeting her near the town in a while. I just need to stop for some supplies and a rest." He recalled his Machamp and began to guide me down the path. In truth, it wasn't supplies I needed; when I reached the town, I was gathering a band of people crazy enough to fight alongside me and take down the carrier. If Team Blaze was causing problems to the point that people were guarding the town, then I knew I wouldn't have too many problems.

It was about an hour before we reached the town, and at that moment I took Leon aside to an alley and told him the truth about everything. After about 10 minutes, he knew about me, my powers, the events of the past few days, and who Vix really was. He took it in rather well, which was not what I was expecting. When I finished my story, he smiled craftily. "I've got your back, kid. I know some people who would be willing to join you on your attack." He held out his hand, and I shook it lightly. "Meet me here tomorrow at midnight, and we'll see who's all lined up." He looked around suspiciously. "Watch out, though, because Team Blaze has spies everywhere. You may have to get some kind of disguise before word gets around that you're here." I nodded and he grinned. "I have to go back to my post, so I'll see you later. Remember: stay hidden until tonight!" he called as he ran off. I looked around quickly to see if there were any prying eyes, but I saw nothing. I put on my hood and walked onto the main road. I had to find some proper attire, and fast.

I found a clothing store about a block away, and was able to sneak out with an interesting mask: a lower-jaw skull mask that concealed my face so no one could see me, without disrupting my vision. As an added measure, I snagged some sunglasses off of a rack, but not without commenting on the outrageous price tag plastered to it. I shook my head, ignoring it, and quickly exited the building before the clerk could realize what I had done. I didn't feel good stealing, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, I was going to give them back when I was done. Well, as long as Yveltal didn't shred them like it had done to my lucky hoodie.

I found a fire escape outside a building, so I climbed to the top to find a place I could rest without being disturbed. I knew it was going to be a long night, and I needed to keep my strength up. Now that I had some high ground, I looked over to the harbor and saw a large shape a few miles off the coast. I knew that this had to be the carrier. I stared at it intensely, as if my gaze would cause the ship to sink, but eventually realized sitting around wasn't doing any good for anybody. I had a revelation that day: I needed to stop Team Blaze and kill Silus, not just to save Vix, not just for retribution, but for the good of everyone. I wasn't going to let any more towns or cities be destroyed or overrun, and I wasn't going to let any more families be destroyed. I swore once again that I would stop them as I drifted off into sleep.

I opened my eyes to find myself lying on my back in what appeared to be an endless white room. It was a strange feeling; I felt as if I were outside, but I couldn't see any sky or feel any breeze. I heard footsteps approaching from behind, and saw a strange sight when I turned. It was a boy, who appeared to be my age, and my height. As I studied him further, I realized it _was_ me, except he had black hair and white skin.

"Who are you?" I asked cautiously, holding my hand out to summon my sword, but nothing happened. The stranger smiled and said "There is no need for weapons here, Steven. I only wish to talk, face to face."

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know my name? And, on top of that, who are you?"

The figure chuckled quietly. "You really need me to spell it out for you? I thought it would be pretty obvious."

I relaxed when I finally realized who I was speaking to. "Umbra." I said softly. He laughed loudly, and I realized he sounded like me to, but with a deeper tone layered on top of his voice. "Where are we?" I asked. I was a little concerned, seeing as I had fallen asleep on top of a building, and was now… nowhere.

"We are in your mind. Now that I have been awakened, I can make you aware of your dreams. Being a spirit, I cannot sleep, so I can awaken you subconsciously." He turned and began to walk in the direction he had come from. "Come with me." He called over his shoulder. I jogged to his side.

After a few minutes, Umbra held an arm out to his side, stopping me. Ahead of us I saw a massive stadium. It stood higher than any building I had ever seen.  
"What is this all about?" I asked, shocked by the sight of the immense building ahead of me.  
"This is where you continue your training. You may have learned a few skills from the old man, but his unexpected betrayal cut your training short."

I looked at him, confused. "But he taught me everything there was to know about my powers." Umbra narrowed his eyes. "Yes, but you are going to have to get used to having a voice in your head. On top of that, there is still more you can do in your demonic form. The old man probably didn't tell you because he feared you would overcome him if you knew these powers."  
"Then if I could beat the old man without those powers, then I can beat Silus with them too." I said with confidence. Umbra exploded with laughter, and wiped a tear from his eye as he explained: "Silus has Yveltal, a pokemon that is basically the physical embodiment of destruction. You _really_ think it's going to be easier to beat than the old man?" I nodded understanding his point. "Okay, then. Lead on." He turned back to the arena and led me inside.

We entered to see a massive battlefield inside the building, and stands filled with screaming people. I looked around in awe. "What's going on here?" I exclaimed in amazement.  
Umbra shrugged. "I thought it would be good to have positive reinforcement. And, I love making things more dramatic." He clapped his hands twice as a shadowy figure appeared in the center of the field. It slowly became clearer and clearer until it took on the form of Registeel, a legendary pokemon that appeared to be a metallic statue, but was in fact a living powerhouse. It sat there simply, as if awaiting orders.

"First, you must accept that you are going to be killing, both humans and pokemon-" I started to protest, but he continued, "-I know you don't like the idea of that, but it must be done, because Yveltal and all of the other pokemon Team Blaze will have on the carrier are going to be trained to kill without hesitation. In the end it's going to be you or them." I looked at him angrily, surprised at how heartless he was.

"I know you're a demon, but you're kind of an asshole." I said. He simply smiled and walked away, holding his hand in the air and snapping his fingers twice. I heard a low groan as the large pokemon behind me began to move…


	11. Chapter 11

tChapter 11

The Resistance

I awoke suddenly, gasping for breath. It had been so vivid, my dream. Did it really happen? Or am I just going crazy? _Your mental condition is normal, but your combat needs a lot of work._ I heard a disappointed voice in the back of my mind say. My training hadn't gone over well, to say the least. Even with all my abilities, skill, and constant repetition of "it isn't real", my humanity won me over, and wouldn't allow me to kill any pokemon. Humans are different; humans, depending on their morals, can be evil and corrupt. I can kill humans like that with little questioning. But pokemon… they are bound to their trainers by Pokeballs, forced to obey their whims. It isn't their fault they fight me, they are simply afraid of what would happen if they didn't.  
_You are so pathetic,_ Umbra whispered, _it pains me to hear you go on and on about this in your head._ I scowled. _What is your deal? You seemed so noble when you were awakened. Why are you so heatless?  
_I heard cruel laughter echoing throughout my mind. _I was thanking you for awakening me! I, unlike the creatures you refuse to kill when the need arises, am not bound by a ball. I can do whatever the hell I want, and what I want is to keep you alive. That won't be easy if you don't cooperate with me when you are training._  
I sighed heavily, then looked to a clock tower near the center of town. I tightened my fist when I saw the time: 11:45. _Time to meet the troops,_ I thought excitedly. _You're going to need the extra help, with or without training. You must get to know these people, their strengths and weaknesses, so we may create a proper strategy._ Umbra planned in my head. I sighed, and quickly descended the ladder to the street below.

I waited in the alley ten minutes later, and was surprised to see a hooded figure emerge from the shadows.  
"You are Steven?" an electronic voice asked. Isquinted, struggling to see the person's face, but the hood shadowed it to well. "Yes. I was told to meet Leon here." The figure simply turned and walked deeper in the alley, beckoning me to follow. He led me to a sewer grate at a dead end, and moved it to the side. He motioned for me to climb down, and as I did, he quick looked around, obviously worried we were being followed. Then, when I reached the bottom of the ladder, he jumped down, landing silently beside me. He reached out and pushed a button on the wall behind me, and I heard a metallic scrape as the grate slid back into place. Then, he continued onward, leading me through a maze of sewer pipes.

After what seemed like silent ages, the pipe led us to a large room with various tables scattered around. On these tables were various mechanisms that looked like they were from another planet or time. I heard heavy footsteps on the far end of the room, and saw Leon entering from a wide doorway, clapping his hands.  
"Ah, you made it! I'm sorry we didn't have many people, but there aren't many who want to risk taking on Team Blaze." He turned to the hooded figure beside me and asked, "Wesley, do you know where Gwen is?" He sounded very concerned. The hooded figure shook his head. "No sir, but you know she always runs late."  
Leon nodded. "Ah, yes. I keep telling her to stick to the schedule, but she always gets sidetracked with some project of hers." Wesley nodded as he removed the cloak he was wearing, sat at one of the tables and started to work on a shortbow-shaped device.  
"That guy, he's so polite. I keep telling him he doesn't have to call me sir, but he does." Leon chuckled. I looked at the strange person sitting at the table. "I don't want to sound rude, but is he a robot or something?" I could see now he was wearing a mask, which explained the voice filter. It looked like just a flat black mask, with a red skull painted over it and lenses in the eyes. He also looked like he was wearing a suit of armor that gave him a cyborg look. Leon looked at me quizzically, and then laughed. "Oh, no, he's as human as you and me. He just has a great knack for building things. See that suit he's wearing? He built it himself to make him stronger and less vulnerable. Other than explaining his gadgets, he doesn't talk much." Leon suddenly seemed mournful. "I think he lost someone close to him, like the rest of us, and couldn't handle it, so he shut down." I nodded. I understood what it was like to lose hope.

Suddenly there was a clattering, followed by some incoherent, angry yelling. A door on the right end of the room burst open, and a woman stumbled in, carrying several rolled up pieces of paper.  
"Sorry I'm late, boys, but I got a little caught up looking at these blueprints. I think I may have found a way to get onto the carrier!" she dropped the papers onto the table, and her eyes widened when she saw me. It was the woman from the festival that had given me the amulet!  
"Steven! You're alive!" she rushed over to me and quickly hugged me. Then she backed away, embarrassed. "Sorry about that, it's just you're the only person besides Leon that I've seen from the village after the attack. Seeing you is especially a surprise after that attack you took." She was looking at me curiously. "Oh, I see, you have a healing factor, so you were able to survive the blow."  
"Ok, you're freaking me out. How do you know so much about me?" I exclaimed. It was really freaky when somebody knew so much about me.  
She laughed and explained: "I'm a psychic, remember? I've been getting stronger, thanks to my bond with Morgana." She tossed out a pokeball, and after a blinding flash a Gardevoir was standing next to her. It looked at me with curiosity, and a voice filled my mind, _He doesn't look that great._ I jumped back a few feet. "What the hell was that?" I shouted.

Gwen smiled. "Gardevoir is a psychic type, so she has telepathic abilities." _Yeah, stupid._ The voice said teasingly. I smiled, feeling stupid. Leon walked up to her quickly. "What is this I heard about a way onto the carrier?" he asked excitedly. Gwen's eyes lit up. "Oh, right! Take a look at this!" she unrolled one of the papers onto the table, revealing it was a set of blueprints. "Morgana was able to get these out of a Team Blaze vault with her telekinesis. It's the schematis for the carrier!" I stared at them intently, and shrugged. "I'm not the kind of guy who understands blueprints. What are we looking for here?"  
Gwen pointed at a spot in the back of the carrier. "This is where the anchor is kept. If we can get to it, we can climb the chain and get right into the carrier, extremely close to the surveillance room!" I nodded and clenched a fist. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said angrily. Just then, I heard an electronic laugh behind me. I turned and saw Wesley walking over to me. "You really think it's that easy, getting on there? You need a plan, and supplies, neither of which we have. However, I know exactly what you need to get on that boat." He pointed to a small box on the table. "Stealth box." He said proudly. "Makes you completely invisible. They are going to have radar on that carrier, so you need to be hidden." He handed it to me. "Press the button."

I looked down and saw a red button staring me in the face. I pressed it hesitantly, and in that instant my hand and the box disappeared. I widened my eyes. "Impressive." I said quietly. Wesley nodded and went on: "It isn't perfect, though; it only works for fifteen minutes, and if you move too much it weakens. You need to stand perfectly still in order to be completely unseeable." I moved my arm, and it slowly flickered into view. "This alone won't help you, though. I've heard about these powers of yours. Why don't you give us a demonstration?" he sat down again, and looked at me expectantly. I shrugged and conjured my signature helix sword. I flipped it into the air and swung it down as I caught it, unleashing a wave of energy that slammed into the wall on the far end of the room. I looked back at him. "Satisfied?" I asked. He nodded. "I'm sold." He turned to Leon. "Shall we head out tomorrow, sir?" Leon chuckled. "For the last time, you don't have to call me sir! And yes, tomorrow will be perfect. Everybody get some rest. We've got a big day ahead of us." He beckoned me. "I'll show you to our spare room."

I lay in my bed, thinking about the next day. I could hardly believe that after what seemed like an eternity, I was finally going to see Vix. Suddenly, a shape loomed over me, and I rolled over quickly. It was Morgana, Gwen's Gardevoir, and she did not look very happy. _You think too loud, it's keeping me awake!_ I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," I whispered, "It's just tomorrow's a big day." She sat down next to me. _It is for us all. Tell me, how did you meet Vix?_ She asked. I raised an eyebrow. "Can't you just read my mind and see for yourself?" I asked. She looked down. _I could, but it's better when you are told by the person. Makes it seem more like a story._ I nodded and told her the story, starting from when I had heard noises in the forest, all the way up to when we left the abandoned house.

I looked at her when I was finished. Her face was hidden in the shadows, but I heard her voice in my head, _that's a beautiful story, Steven_. She said mournfully. I looked down and smiled. "That's why I want to save her: so our story can continue. I don't want to lose her." I looked at her and noticed she was crying softly. "What's the matter?" I asked, concerned. She shook her head lightly, and I heard her voice in my head, sounding as if she were sobbing even in her mind, _I was once in a similar situation, before I met Gwen. There was a boy I loved very much. We fought together, as if we were on level ground rather than master and pet. We almost kissed a few times, but we weren't ready at the time. One day, he got really sick, and died. I still haven't forgiven myself for trying harder to save him._ She put her head in her hands and her crying was more audible. I put my arm around her and patted her shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose someone close, and not just with Vix. I lost my parents a long time ago, and have been on my own since." She looked up at me, her eyes wide. "You just gotta learn to move on. You keep the memories as long as you live, and no matter how hard they hurt, you keep moving, letting those experiences make you a better and stronger person. _I guess you're right. Without what I've been through, I wouldn't have met Gwen, a wonderful person who has been my best friend._  
I smiled. "Sometimes all we need is a friendly hand to pull us out of the darkness." She smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then, she leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. _Thank you, Steven._ She whispered in my mind. I stared dumbfounded as she stood up and slowly walked out of the room.  
_You hound,_ Umbra teased in the back of my mind.  
_You shut up._ I retorted.  
_Easy, buddy. Now, why don't you come on over and train?_ He suggested. I stiffened. _No. I'm done training if all you're going to do is get me to kill._ I closed my eyes. _It doesn't matter if you can't kill or not, you still need to train. I promise I won't make you kill anything, but you need the experience._ I nodded. _Alright. Let's get started._


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sacrifice

We went into town the next morning to get a boat off shore. We exited through the pipe Wesley had guided me through the previous day and headed for the town square. We quietly discussed what we would do when we got on board.  
"I think we should shut down the security system, make them run blind." Wesley suggested. I nodded. "We should also take out the power grid. It'll be easier to sneak around in darkness." Morgana suddenly spoke up, _Hey, what's going on over there?_ We all looked and saw a crowd gathered at the square, dressed in a familiar black-and-red getup. "We have to hurry." Leon said as he rushed off. The rest of us followed close behind.

We reached the square to see a group of Team Blaze grunts holding back a group of citizens. I gritted my teeth from behind my disguise. I took a step forward, but Gwen grabbed my shoulder. "Don't. Look who it is." I gasped as I saw a familiar suited man step from the group. The citizens ran away in fear as he stepped forward. He cleared his throat as he began to speak.

"I, Silus, leader of Team Blaze, have received information regarding an old adversary. If anyone has any information on Steven, a silver-haired teenage boy, they will be handsomely rewarded." He examined the crowd. "Nobody wants to tell me? So be it." I knew I couldn't contain myself any longer when he reached for a black pokeball on his belt. I rushed forward.  
"I know where Steven is!" I shouted. Silus' hand froze as he slowly turned to me. He smiled broadly.  
"See? This is what I like to see: cooperation. If more people simply did as they were told, we would have this problem." He turned to me. "Tell me, boy, where is Steven? He and I have a score to settle." I stared at him. Here was the man that had taken Vix. The man who had tried to kill me. He was standing a few yards away from me, and had no idea who I was. I could have struck him down right there, but Umbra stopped me. _This is not the place, Steven. Besides, kill him and the grunts will overwhelm you instantly. You need to take him on in his carrier, where his resources will be spread thin._

I shook my head, snapping back to reality. "He's coming for you." I said ominously. I turned to the crowd. "I've spoken with him personally. He's coming to set you all free and end the reign of Silus and Team Blaze!" I thrust my fist into the air. The crowd cheered wildly. Silus scowled and retreated to the group, which collectively retreated. I went back to the others and exhaled sharply.  
"Are you insane?" Leon laughed. "What if he recognized you?" I shook my head. "I needed to give them some hope." I said simply. Wesley cleared his throat. "That was a spectacular performance, but we must get going." He gestured in the direction we were heading previously. We nodded collectively and continued to the docks.

When we reached the docks, Gwen led us to a speedboat parked on the farthest edge. It had been covered in a tarp to help it blend in with the water. "Let's get going." She called as she ran and jumped in. Wesley set the stealth box on the dashboard and pressed the button as Leon and I sat down. Suddenly, the boat and ourselves vanished from sight. "Oh, sorry, I've forgotten something, haven't I?" Wesley chuckled as he turned the device off. He then handed us each a pair of goggles. "This will let us see through the filter." He turned to Gwen. "Take it slow or the box won't work properly." She nodded and started the boat. Moments later, we were cruising to our destiny.

I looked at Wesley. "So what's your story?" I asked nonchalantly. He looked at me. "I'd rather not talk about that." He said flatly. I stared at him. "Sometimes all you need is someone to listen." I said gently. He looked away. "No." he growled. Gwen piped up, "Come on Wes, you know about us, but all we know is you're smart and good at building!" Leon smiled. "Come on, buddy, it's ok."  
Wesley looked up sharply. "You want to know my story? You want to know that badly? Fine. I was a little kid, and my parents disappeared one day. I don't know if they were killed or if they ran away or what. So I was put into a boarding school, where I was treated like garbage. The only comfort I could find was building my devices. I thought it would make the others like and respect me, but it only made things worse. So I ran away. It was after that I found out the school was a recruitment facility for Team Blaze members. They would capture and kill parents, and their children would be molded into soldiers. I lost it then. Team Blaze had taken my life away and made it into hell. So I hid. I built myself this suit to hide my humanity, because I no longer felt that way. I swore I would destroy them. I swore I would make them pay." He was breathing hard now. Leon patted his shoulder. "We've all lost a lot because of Team Blaze. That's why we are here." Gwen and I nodded. Wesley looked up at us. "Thank you. That felt good." Leon patted his shoulder. "It isn't healthy to keep things locked up for so long. That is what keeps you from being human."  
Wesley looked to the front of the boat and pointed. "There it is." He said. I looked up to see the behemoth ship ahead of us. Gwen slowed the boat as we reached the back as Wesley pulled out the shortbow he had been working on at the hideout. He took aim and fired at the frame of the ship, a tethered arrow buried itself into the frame of the ship. "Climb, quickly. That's probably going to attract attention." He called as he tied the rope to the boat. I ran and jumped out, grabbing the rope and furiously climbed to the top. I turned around and helped Leon, Gwen and Wesley climb up.

"Everyone ready?" Leon whispered. We all nodded. "Good. This is it. I just want to say, just in case we don't make it out of here, it's been an honor meeting you all." Gwen squirmed nervously. "Uh, Leon, I just wanted to say-" she began, but Leon cut her off with a raised hand. "I know, Gwen." He looked at her and smiled.

Wesley cleared his throat. "We really must get moving." Gwen nodded and sent out Morgana. She blushed and looked away shyly when she saw me. Leon sent out his Machamp, who led the way. We wandered through the corridor for about ten minutes before we found an opening into a small room filled with screens.  
"I've got this." Wesley called as he dropped into the room. A minute later, he stuck his head back in and nodded for us to follow. We jumped down to see a guard tied up in the corner, passed out. Wesley sat down at one of the monitors and furiously typed away. After a few seconds, he stood up again.  
"Power and security is offline. Let's get moving." We ran out of the room and down a dark hallway.  
"The blueprints said that this should lead right to the bridge. We can take on Silus and end this here!" Gwen whispered. She counted to three on her fingers and we all burst out of the hallway. What waited on the other side was not at all the bridge.

We were outside, surrounded by Team Blaze grunts. "Well, well, well." I heard a taunting voice call from above. We turned around and saw Silus on a balcony above us."You really think you could get reliable blueprints in a town we control? The real plans were destroyed long ago." He looked me in the eye. "Steven. I've been having fun studying you little pet, trying to find out what makes her tick. I haven't figured it out yet, but I'm close. And when I do, I'm going to make all our pokemon like her: intelligent, understandable soldiers, more human than pokemon. They will be much easier to control then."

I glared at him. "And what makes you say that?" I called. He smiled. "Because humans are easily brainwashed. Every soldier in front of you is my elite guard, perfectly rasied to obey my every order. With a human mind, a pokemon is even more easily controlled than ever." He looked to the horizon, lost in thought. "With my army, we will wipe out all human life on this planet, leaving only pokemon. Nature will return to its original state, and life will once again flourish. And in the end, I, Silus, will be worshipped as their savior!" he proclaimed proudly. Then he chuckled. "Too bad you won't be able to see it. Guards, kill them." He snapped his fingers, and every grunt on deck pulled out a broadsword as the slowly marched forward. Leon pulled out a club and knocked the feet out from under one, causing another to trip. I saw Gwen and Morgana unleashing psychic waves, taking out man after man. Wesley was subduing guards with his bow, which I now saw had an electronic display, allowing him to lock onto targets. I turned to the chaos and asked silently: _are you ready?_ Umbra laughed evilly. _Let's go._

My back erupted into a pair of wings as my hair turned black and my skin turned white. I called my sword and began charging through the crowd, knocking aside the enemies. I tried my best not to kill them, instead throwing them overboard with my immense strength. One of them tried throwing his sword at me, so I simply caught it in my teeth and broke it in half. He ran and jumped overboard himself after seeing that. After a half hour of endless screaming, we had defeated all the guards. I looked up to the balcony and saw Silus gripping the rail angrily. "Fine then, see if you can beat these!" he shouted as he slammed his hand onto a button to his side. A door opened up on the deck and a swarm of armored men ran out. They were armed with massive blades and cannons, and their faces were covered in thick, black glass. One of them nearly cut Gwen in half, but Morgana blasted it away with a massive wave of psychic energy. The fight continued as it had before, us dodging attack after attack, until we had once again exhausted Silus' troops.

Silus grabbed the ball from his belt and pushed a button. A clear, impenetrable wall slowly rose up, separating us. Wesley, Morgana and I were trapped on one side, while Gwen, Leon and his Machamp were on the other. Silus threw the ball in the air, and his terrible black and red pokemon appeared.  
"YVELTAL! OBLIVION WING ON STEVEN'S FRIENDS!" He shouted like a madman. I looked up as Yveltal charged up a wave of energy. Leon quickly recalled his Machamp and tossed it over the wall.  
"Make sure he stays safe." He said sadly. Wesley ran to the wall and began pounding on it. "LEON! NO!" he screamed. Morgana sat down suddenly, her face blank. Gwen tossed me her pokeball and nodded to me. "And her too." She called. I stared in horror as Leon took Gwens hand gently, and the watched as the wave of energy flew towards them.

I looked away. I couldn't bear to watch them die. I heard the sizzle of energy as the attack struck, and fought to hold back my tears. I looked back to Silus, who had a crazed look on his face. "Come to the bridge. I will face you alone." He spun around and marched out of sight.

I turned to Morgana and Wesley. "We have to go, now." I urged them, but they wouldn't budge. I ran up to them. "If we stay here, then they will have died for nothing. We have to get to the bridge and finish this, for them."  
Wesley stood up slowly. He began to speak, and I noticed his voice was no longer layered by his filter. "You're right. We need to go." He marched to the door we had come out from and waited. I grabbed Morgana's shoulder. "Please." I begged her. She looked up at me slowly, her eyes showing no emotion. _Now she's dead. If I had been over there, I could have stopped the attack._ I shook my head, still trying not to cry. "She would have recalled you no matter what. Don't you see? She wanted to save you. _She_ died protecting _you_. We need to get inside."  
Just then, the wall receded, and more armored soldiers came out. Morgan stood up. _No,_ she said in my head, _I am done losing friends. You go to the bridge; I'll get rid of them._ She said, and suddenly she began to hover into the air, her eyes glowing. _Get back._ She said flatly. I ran to Wesley and watched as her entire body began to glow. A pained scream filled my mind as the light enveloped her, and a massive blast rushed to meet the armored soldiers, who disappeared as they touched it. When it was all over, the light faded, and Morgana slowly floated back to the ground. I rushed to her side, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. _It's… beautiful…_ she said slowly.  
"No, Morgana, please don't die…" I pleaded. I didn't bother holding back the tears anymore. Suddenly, a red light enveloped her, and she vanished. I turned around and saw Wesley had gotten her pokeball and recalled her.  
"We can figure out a way to save her when we get back to town," he said grimly, "but for now we need to hurry." He motioned to the door, and I followed him. I was stoic and calm now, on the outside at least. _I'll kill you, Silus. This isn't for me anymore. This is for Gwen, and Leon, and everyone affected by you. I will see to it that you are wiped from the face of this planet._


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Final Battle

My mind was buzzing. I couldn't think straight at all. Wesley was a few feet in front of me, sating nothing. I could tell he wasn't faring ant better than me. Every time we came across a guard, he quickly knocked him out with a swift punch to the face. I felt my head begin to burn, and I dropped to my knees.  
_Steven, you have to focus! _Umbra said sharply. _Your emotions are to unbalanced; if you don't snap out of this, you'll turn, and neither of us will be able to do anything to control it!_  
Wesley was by me now. "Come on, now; if I'm strong enough to come out and talk about my past, you are strong enough to keep going." He must have noticed this wasn't helping, so he leaned forward and whispered "Vix. Remember Vix. Keep going, if not for your sake, then for hers."

I looked up slowly, my mind clearing. He was right; if I lost it here, there was no telling what would become of Vix. I stood up, and just to be safe, returned to my normal form.  
"Better?" he asked. "Much." I replied. I looked ahead and saw a door. "Maybe that's the bridge." I pointed to it. Wesley nodded. "Either that or it's just beyond." He pushed open the door to reveal a large, empty room with a solitary screen on the far wall. Silus' face appeared on it, but something was wrong. His eyes looked huge and blue, and his hair was white.  
"Surprised by my appearance? Don't worry, I am simply preparing for our battle, Steven. But first, see if you are worthy of facing the god of the new world by facing his Seraphim!" he shouted as three doors opened around us. Out of each stepped a strange creature; they appeared to be the legendary pokemon Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, but they also looked like humans.  
"While I was unable to give pokemon human minds, I was able to give humans pokemon traits!" he cried victoriously. The three poke-humans charged at us, blasting elemental energy all around. The Entei human nearly roasted me alive, but I made it out just in time. I turned and saw Wesley on his knees, his body sparking. He pushed a button on his side, and his suit fall away, revealing a slender human body. He slowly removed his mask, and I saw the face of a boy about my age, pale from a low exposure to light. He had messy brown hair, and stubby facial hair. His eyes were hard and cold, showing the true feelings of a boy tormented for years.

He pulled out a pair of triangular daggers, one red and one blue, and stepped ahead of me.  
"You go ahead." He said flatly. "I'll handle them." I started to protest, but he turned around and looked at me with eyes full of regret. "Take care of those pokemon for me, alright?" I stared at him, trying to think of something to say, but his eyes told me there was no point in arguing. I nodded slowly, and ran to the door. I glanced back just before it shut to see Wesley charging at them. I heard him say "I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!" just before the door canceled all sound. I bowed my head sadly, unable to cry anymore. _Let's go, _Umbra said softly,_ we aren't done yet._

As I continued down the hallway, Silus taunted me over the loudspeakers. "You just don't give up, do you? I've killed all of your companions, and you still continue. Don't you see? You aren't going to win. When my final plan is enacted, I will be more powerful than even my own pokemon. I will give you one last chance to just turn around, before you-" I hit the call button on a panel to my left and shouted into it, "Listen, jackass, you have done something I was unable to do myself: you have awakened the part of me that is more than willing to kill, human and pokemon alike. You better shut the hell up, and start planning how you are going to beat me, because you are going to need all the preparation you can get if you want to beat me. You have given me next to nothing to lose; all I have left is Vix, and since you have her, I'm going to fight even harder. Get ready, asshole, because I am about to make you wish you had never been born so you could never have been killed by me." Then I summoned a shadow shuriken and destroyed the panel. Silus shut up after that.

I reached the end of the hallway and entered a pitch-black room. The door slammed shut behind me as the lights turned on to reveal a massive arena, with Silus sitting in a golden throne across from me.  
"Did you know," he said as he stepped down, "that in the beginning, pokemon stood above humans? We had no way of capturing them so they roamed free and unchecked. I plan to go back to that state, when humans feared pokemon. But, in my version, there will be a few humans who stand above evn the pokemon, because they _are_ pokemon." I could see him much clearly now; he had white hair and blue eyes like I saw back in the white room, but I could also see he had massive red and black hands, with fingers that ended in claws. I stared in horror as he went on: "I sacrificed my own pokemon for the greater good of all. I am no longer Silus; I am now-" he swept back his wings, unleashing a wave that knocked the walls and ceiling away, revealing a massive hurricane above us, "-SIVELTAL."  
I looked behind him and saw, next to his throne, was a steel cage with a small, crumpled yellow creature. I recognized it instantly.  
"VIX!" I called happily. She stood up quickly, her face bright with pure joy. "Steven!" she called. I smiled, the mere sound of her voice strengthening me. I looked back to Siveltal, and drew forth my sword. "Well then, what are you waiting for?" he called to me, "release you full power so that our battle may be legendary!"  
I was happy to oblige.

I bent over as my skin lightened, but even more than before, so it was paper white. My body became covered in intricate black markings, and my hair lengthened so it stretched halfway down my back. My fingers grew to form long, serrated claws, and my face slowly sunk back, molding tightly against my skull. Then, two spikes protruded from my skull, slowly forming forward-swept horns. I looked down at my blade, now glowing with a dark aura. _Take over, my man._ I said silently. Suddenly, it was as if I was looking down on myself. My mouth opened and spoke in a deep, base-toed voice: "I am Umbra, the demon sealed within Steven. I am sworn to help him slay all who oppose him. And now…" he studied his sword, finding a good grip on it, and then looked up sharply. "YOU SHALL DIE!" He screamed as he rushed Siveltal. He simply jumped up and over him, but Umbra was ready. He slid under Siveltal, and threw several shadow kunai at him. Siveltal screeched as he crashed into the floor, but laughed as he stood up. I watched in horror as his dislocated, bleeding arm slowly knitted itself and healed. "You aren't the only one with a healing factor anymore, demon." He said as his arms began to glow. "OBLIVION WING!" he shouted as he swung his arms, unleashing a black crescent. Umbra held his sword above his head, and the moment the wave reached him, he brought it down swiftly, cutting the wave in half. Siveltal growled angrily. "YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME, DEMON! I AM GOD!" he shouted as he rapidly swept his wings. Umbra was blocking the waves that flew at him again and again, but I knew he was running out of energy fast. His gaze quickly shot over to the cage under the throne.  
_Steven… goodbye,_ He said to me silently as he swung his blade towards Vix's cage, slicing it neatly in half. At that moment, the waves hit him one by one, each draining his energy until he was lying on the ground. Suddenly, I was back in my body, but it was back to normal, no longer demonic.

_Umbra?_ I asked silently, _are you there? _But my thoughts went unanswered. I looked at Siveltal, who was laughing maniacally.  
"Ah, it would appear you've lost your little imaginary friend." I looked up at him sharply. "Ah, yes, I've looked into your powers. The Curse of Solitude, I believe it's called. You had a demon living in your head, and he gave his life to protect you and your pokemon. Too bad he took his powers with him." He turned around and begun pacing. I got up slowly, then collapsed to my knees. My body wasn't strong enough, so I sat there bent over, waiting for him to decide what to do.

I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I sighed as Vix whispered in my ear, "Oh Steven, I thought you were dead." She was crying softly. I smiled at her.  
"You know there is no killing me, not while I have you to protect." I held her tightly. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't keep them from taking you." She looked at me forgivingly. "But you're here now."  
I knew what I had to do. I had to finish what I started back at the festival. I leaned forward slowly, finally about to kiss her, when suddenly a pair of clawed hands grabbed me and tore me away from her and threw me across the room.

"WE AREN'T FINISHED YET!" Siveltal shouted angrily. "You have challenged me, and we are going to see this through TO THE END!" he ran to me faster than I could follow, and threw me straight up to the air. I flaied my arms wildly, struggling to grab one of the supports on the ceiling, but I was quickly thrown back to the ground. I groaned as Siveltal stood over me, planted a foot on my chest, and held his hand high, charging up an attack.

"I will make you pay for defying me!" he shouted, laughing like a madman. Suddenly, a massive fireball came out of nowhere and knocked him off me. He stood up quickly, and we both turned to see Vix, a defiant gleam in her eyes and a flame on the tip of her wand.  
"Get away from him." She said slowly. Siveltal stared for a moment, then laughed.  
"You caught me off guard, girl, that is why you hit me. You really think you can defeat me?" his hands took on a dark, smoky aura. She stared at him for a moment, and then closed her eyes. She wrapped her hand around her wrist, and then held up her everstone bracelet.  
"Last chance." She said angrily. Obviously he had not realized what it was, for he was still laughing.  
"You think a piece of jewelry will stop me?" he shouted, losing patience.  
"No. It's what happens when I drop it." Just then, the bracelet slipped from her fingers, and she was enveloped in a fiery explosion. I watched as her silhouette behind the curtain of fire changed, her skirt lengthening into an elegant dress, and she grew to nearly 5 feet. The fire died away, and I saw, standing in her place, was a beautiful Delphox.

Siveltal screeched, sounding more like the creature he had been fused with than a human. He fired off wave after wave, the same attack that had killed Umbra, but she held up her wand, and each wave hit an invisible barrier, bouncing off harmlessly. She slowly walked towards him, forcing him to back away, but he didn't stop firing his attacks. When he had had enough, he held up his hands to form a massive ball of dark energy.  
"DIIIIIIEEEEE!" he screamed as it flew towards her. She waved her wand, and a ring of fire surrounded the ball, halting it a few feet from her.  
"No. You kidnapped me, killed many innocent people, and tried to kill Steven. YOU DIE!" she shouted as she waved her wand once again, and the ball flew back at Siveltal. I had just enough time to see his eyes widen in fear before he was enveloped by the dark explosion. When the smoke cleared, I saw Yveltal hunched over a human skeleton and a black pokeball, that immediately exploded into shards. It snapped open its eyes and looked at me and Vix gratefully, then shot into the air, straight into the storm above us. After a moment, there was a bright light in the eye of the storm, and it vanished, revealing a bright sun and blue skies.

Vix ran over to me, helping me to my feet. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. I looked at her for a moment, and kissed her, wrapping my arms around her. We stood there for what seemed like ages, until we finally separated.  
"Finally, I could do that without someone trying to kill me." I said happily. She smiled and hugged me tightly.  
"Now there's one problem: how do we get out of here?" she whispered in my ear. I chuckled softly and replied, "Don't worry, I brought a ride."


	14. Epilogue

Chapter 14

Epilogue

As we headed back to the boat, we talked about the events of the past few days; my training, the discovery of what my curse really was, and the reunion with Leon and Gwen. We rappelled down the rope to the boat, and just as Vix was about to cut the rope, I heard a voice calling from above.  
"Guys! WAIT!" it called. I saw a shape leap out of the exit, and Wesley landed next to me, shaking the boat violently.

"We have to get out of here! I set a self-destruct sequence to destroy this whole ship in 5 minutes!" he yelled frantically. I wasted no time, and in a few seconds we were hurling back to shore.  
"How did you beat those guys back there?" I called to Wesley over the roaring engines.  
"You actually thought I was dead? Those are my lucky daggers; nobody can best me when I pull those babies out!" he cried hysterically. "I must admit, though, I had my doubts."  
I smiled. "Well, it's good to see you again." I held out my hand. He shook it firmly. "And to you."

When we reached the town, we were welcomed by a crowd of cheering citizens. Vix waved shyly, and Wesley tried to hide behind us. The celebration was briefly interrupted by the concussive explosion of the carrier behind us. We turned and watched it slowly sink beneath the waves, all traces of Silus's mad plan lost forever.

A few hours later, we went back to the hideout in the sewers to gather some things before we departed. Vix gathered some food in a backpack while Wesley took me aside.  
"Listen, Steven, I was wondering, do you still have Leon'S and Gwen's pokemon?" he asked nervously.  
"Yeah, why do you ask?" I said, even though I already knew why.  
"Well, I was wondering if you would let me hang onto them. I mean, if that's alright with you." He said shyly.  
I smiled, reached into my pocket and handed him the two poke balls. "Of course you can. You take good care of them." Then I remembered something. "We should bring them to the Pokemon Center first, to make sure they're ok. Especially Morgana; I'm worried that attack may have been too much for her."  
Wesley nodded understandingly. "I'll meet you at the edge of town, on the main road. I've got a few more things to take care of here."

I entered the Pokemon Center slowly; I was always cautious about entering public buildings. I walked over to the counter, where a pink-haired nurse was filling out some paperwork.  
"Excuse me, can you check on these pokemon for me?" I asked politely. She looked up at me and smiled.  
"Why, of course. Just hand them here for a moment." I gave her the poke balls and she placed them into a six-slotted machine that whirred for a few moments. When it was done, she looked up at me suddenly, a concerned look on her face.  
"I am sorry, but we are going to have to keep an eye on these two for a while. They look like they've been through quite an ordeal. What exactly have you been doing?" she sounded slightly angry.  
I bowed my head. "Their trainers were good friends of mine, and they died helping me stop Team Blaze. They left me their pokemon, but the whole thing has left them pretty shaken up."  
She narrowed her eyes at the monitor. "Well, I'll say; neither one is showing positive vitals. One seems as if it's on the brink of suicide, and the other is in a coma, possibly from a huge release of energy."  
I remembered the attack that Morgana had used, that wiped out all the armored soldiers. "Well, listen, I'm leaving town soon. How long are you going to need them?" I asked worriedly. I didn't want to stay here too long; things were probably going to get chaotic for me, seeing as I was a celebrity now.  
"Yes, come back in a few hours. They should be good to go by then." I waved behind me as I left the building.

I returned a few hours later, after relaxing at the hideout with Vix. Wesley was nowhere to be seen; I was afraid he had left and I had missed him. When I walked in, the receptionist gave me a grim look.  
"I'm sorry, but I have some bad news." She said slowly. I swallowed hard. "What is it?" I said, my voice shaking.  
She took a deep breath. "Well, we had to let the pokemon out in order to get a good look at them. When we did, the Machamp went into a rage and started attacking the medical equipment. It must have accidentally come in contact with some hazardous medication, and it collapsed on the spot. It wouldn't move. The Gardevoir, on the other hand, seems catatonic; she wouldn't respond to anything we said. All she did was sit on the bench and stare at the wall."  
I looked at my feet. Why did everyone I meet have to die? I wasn't even cursed anymore, and I was still losing friends. "Ok," I said sadly, "I'll take the Gardevoir and be on my way."  
The nurse handed it to me and looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how it feels."  
I looked out a window. "It's alright. I've gotten used to it over the past few days."

Vix and I walked to the edge of town, looking around for Wesley. At last, leaning against a tree, we saw him holding a curious package. He looked at me, smiling, then frowned when he saw my face. "What's the matter?" he asked. I looked up at him. "Machamp is dead."  
His eyes widened, and then he looked away. "Is Morgana alright?" he asked slowly. I nodded. "Yeah, but She's really shaken up. The nurse said they couldn't get any responses from her."  
Wesley nodded, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Do you still have the ball?" he asked shakily. I nodded and handed it to him. He stared at it for a moment, lost in thought.  
"I'll keep it still," he said as he put it into a backpack, "to remember Leon." Then he handed me the package. "Oh, this is for you. I was able to put it together from some scrap lying around. Now hat you don't have your powers, I think you'll find it rather useful."

I took the package. It was long, slender and wide. I unwrapped it eagerly, and my mouth hung open when I saw it. It was a jet-black helix sword, its handle wrapped in red cloth. I flipped it into the air and caught it expertly. "I… I don't know what to say."  
Wesley smiled. "I knew you'd like it. I figured you might need it, whether you keep adventuring, or as a memento of your journey." Then he pulled a mask out of his pocket. "Me, I'm going to go out to look for remnants of Team Blaze. Silus may have been the leader, but someone else might take over. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen for as long as I can." He slowly slid on the mask. It was a flat white mask with narrow, black-ringed eyes. "I hope to meet you again someday." He held out a hand. I took it and shook it firmly.

As he walked away, I remembered something. "Hey, Wes!" I called. He turned around quickly. "You might want this." I tossed him Morgana's ball. "She needs a friend in order to make it through life, and you could use a partner on your quest." He stared at the ball, then looked at me.  
"Thank you, Steven." He said. Then he tossed down a small object that exploded in a puff of smoke. When it cleared, he was nowhere to be seen.

I smiled and turned to Vix. "Let's go home."  
She looked at me quizzically. "Where is home?"  
I looked off into the horizon and imagined a small house where I had met a beautiful Braixen a few days ago. "I have a pretty good idea."

Dear Reader,

It brings me great sorrow to tell you that this is where Steven and Vix's journey comes to an end. It's been fun writing this story, and I thank you for your support. I know it may not have been the best fanfiction you've ever read, but I do hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time,

RAWG98


End file.
